Another side, Another Nobody
by AquaroseNamine
Summary: The voice she'd heard most often... was the one she could never remember. Roxas & Naminé
1. A voice

Naminé...

A voice.  
Not a regular voice. This voice was more angelic.  
Flawless; pure.

Naminé...

She knew who's voice this was, she just couldn't remember.  
Hm. Who could wield such a voice that made even her name sound so  
beautiful?

Naminé.

The voice grew stern, now. It possessed an air of demand, instead of the velvety whispers from before. She stirred.

Suddenly a name exploded in her head. "Sora?" she exclaimed.

"What?" an impatient voice inquired. It sounded equally as familiar. "Who is Sora?" the new speaker whispered towards another direction.

"How should I know?" a rougher voice retorted. "She's probably just dreaming."

"Naminé?" a feminine voice came into clarity.

Naminé stirred again. She felt like she was stuck somewhere, in the midst of a dream. There were so many faces… She felt like she knew every one, she just couldn't recall them.

"Who... who are you? Naminé heard herself asking. She was either directing it towards to the dream or whoever was slowly infiltrating it; either way she was just looking for an answer.

"Ollete, silly." the girl spoke again. "Hey, are you sure you're okay?"

Suddenly Naminé was being lifted up with the aid of someone else. She clutched her throbbing head with her hands; she felt terribly dizzy. She opened her eyes, but a light was streaming from somewhere and it flooded her vision like a douse of orange water had been poured in front of her face. She closed them again.

"No, Naminé, were almost there! Don't fall back asleep." a completely new voice exclaimed.

She opened her eyes again, this time more slowly. She was surrounded by three individuals; all of which looked completely familiar, but  
also entirely vague.

As she looked at each person she remembered their names. "H-Hayner? Pence? Ollete?" she asked.

The blonde boy in the corner shook his head. "And she forgets us." he sighed. "We're friends with her since first grade, and she forgets us."

The brunette girl punched the blonde boy Hayner in the arm. "Hey, now. Everyone's allowed to forget their friends at least once in their life. Right, Pence?" she turned to look at another boy, this one shorter with spiked brown hair.

"Hey, I hit my head pretty hard that time! If you don't remember, I had to be taken to the hospital!" he yelled at the girl named Ollete.

She ignored his outburst like being taken to the hospital was a feat she had to endure everyday, and went back to laughing at the blonde boy for still rubbing his punched arm.

"I fell asleep?" Naminé asked anyone.

Ollete nodded. "Quite possibly. Honestly it looked like you might have fainted or something."

Hayner laughed and ran his hand through his blonde waves. "You were pretty white Naminé. Like, more than you usually are."

Pence and Ollete nodded in agreement.

Naminé was entirely confused. She sighed and sat back heavily against the hard seat she was sitting on. Quickly a beam of light flashed across her face. They were moving. On a train. She looked outside and saw orange bursts of sun coming through green trees. It mesmerized her, they way the light streamed onto the brick roads that were becoming more and more faint the farther the train strayed from them. She felt as if she wanted to stay in this exact spot forever. In fact, in that moment she wished it more than anything.

"Now she's staring into space." Pence, the brown-haired boy laughed, looking at Naminé.

Ollete came to sit next to Naminé. "Hey Naminé, are you sure you're okay? You did get jerked forward pretty hard when we went through that tunnel."

Hayner looked up. "Yeah." he said. "I think that's when you fell asleep. Or passed out, or whatever."

"The tunnel." Naminé lowered her head in thought. The tunnel... That's right. The train had jerked off the tracks for a few brief seconds. She had heard a noise. A scrape... And she had seen... well what exactly had she seen?

As she was thinking the train started to slow down. Soon it came to an abrupt halt with an unwelcoming jerk, and Naminé was thrown forward a bit. Suddenly she lost herself in herself. All she could see was white, and she drifted through nothingness. Then colors began to bleed through, and then she was sitting exactly where she was. She was still on the train, but things were different. As every detail of the train was melting together, she was hit hard with a memory.

* * *

"You know, if that boy hadn't counted the stairs too, we'd still be in the usual spot enjoying what's left of our summer instead of investigating a stupid mistake." Hayner said bitterly.

Pence looked hurt. "You don't think it's interesting?" he asked Hayner.

Hayner looked away and crossed his arms. "Of course not." he said. "Everyone knows it was Rai who counted them in the first place. You honestly expect to find something worth knowing where Rai has been?"

Pence only glanced away, and was silent.

But Hayner wasn't done. "Besides," he hopped up from his seat to stand in the aisle. The four were the only ones on the train, so there was no one to protest. "What was the name of the boy again, anyway?" he enquired of Pence.

Pence thought about it for a minute. "R-Roxas?" he questioned, looking towards Ollete.

"Ro- what?" Hayner shouted. Another reason it was good nobody else was on the train, Naminé thought.

"No." Ollete crinkled her eyebrows in confusion. "No Pence, his name was Tidus. Right Naminé? Wasn't that his name?"

Naminé pondered these names for a moment. She tried to recall the encounter with the boy that one day when the four of them were walking home from the Main street. "Tidus.." she nodded. "The boy's name was Tidus."

"Roxas? Pence, you dummy." Hayner hit him upside the head. "Where did that even come from?"

Pence closed his eyes and rubbed the side of his head where Hayner had hit him. "I don't know. It just popped into my head. I don't even know who it is."

Then it was quiet. All Naminé could hear was the slow rumble of the train on the tracks. Hayner soon broke the silence, however.

"Tidus. Now does that sound like a reliable name to you guys?Well it doesn't to me. Nuh-uh. The kid was lying."

Pence mumbled something under his breath, which Hayner ignored.

Ollete spoke up. "Well, anyway, we could all have some fun, right? We'll get some ice cream and walk around and stuff. There's great stores at Sunset Station too."

Hayner sat back down and crossed his arms. "Oh, terribly fun." he scoffed.

Ollete only sighed. Finally it was quiet. Naminé realized she hadn't said but a few words throughout the whole conversation. She must have been tired. She layed her head on the side of the seat, and slowly closed her eyes.

A little later (she wasn't sure how much later) she awoke, and it was dark in the train. They must have been passing through the tunnel. She gazed around her, looking for any sign of her friends, but the light was too black to see. She looked outside at the passing gray and black lights in the tunnel, that seemed to blend together at the speed of the trains passing.

Suddenly... And then gone. A flash. Quick, and swift. A dark figure passed outside, in the tunnel. She sat up and shook her head, sure she was imagining it, then looked out once more. Again. And again. Four, Five. Six figures had surely and quietly run in the dark, by the train. She couldn't believe what she had seen. Nothing could run that fast, let alone in the dark next to a speeding train. But just as Naminé was about to give up in trying to deduce what those things were, a seventh one passed, but this one slowed. It turned to look at Naminé, and stopped it's run. For a quiet moment the being stared at Naminé. She felt like it was looking her straight in the eyes. Then it lifted it's head, which appeared as if it was covered by a hood of black. She thought she could see a small wisp of blonde hair underneath... then a swift movement and a silver flash. A noise, a scrape. Whatever it was was scratching the window of the moving train with a blade of sorts. It frightened Naminé, but for some reason she did not back away from the window. She couldn't help herself from just staring at the mysterious person, until all too suddenly, it turned from her gaze and ran off again in the opposite distance.

Naminé slowly turned herself from the window, and stared in the darkness in thought. Unexpectedly the train lurched forward, jerking Naminé in her seat. She became very dizzy. She put her head on the seat and closed her eyes, drifting into sleep.

* * *

She gasped, and once again was being pulled from her thoughts. She was back, and it was bright all around her again. Her friends were visible once more, and the train was slowly pulling itself to a stop.

"Wonder what exactly qualifies you as an official schizophrenic." she said aloud, more to herself than anyone. Hayner must have heard, though, because he laughed suddenly and even brushed a few tears away with his hand.

"We're here!" Pence shouted. Everyone stood to leave, except Naminé. She turned to look at the window.

"So I wasn't imagining him..." she said to herself, running her soft hands along the crooked, deep path the 'blade' had taken through the glass. She smiled.

"Naminé, come on!" Pence shouted.

Naminé slowly stood, smoothed her blonde hair over her shoulder, and stepped out of the train.

* * *

Sure it's short, but... :)

Sorry for that. Don't expect the same chapter length in the beginning of this story as my other ones; I wrote them awhile ago. I'm just re-uploading. The basic story is the point of view if Naminé was in Roxas' place. Not if they switched roles, but if all the things were happening to her. More will be explained as the story progresses.

Hope you like!


	2. Promise

"I can't believe I forgot about you guys." Naminé was walking with Ollete down the Main street of the sunset terrace. Pence had been left back at the station to figure out the 'mystery' of the steps and Hayner had gone off on his own to who knows where.

"Hey, don't sweat it. And ignore Hayner, by the way. He's just being... well, Hayner." she sighed.

Ollete had dragged Naminé into shopping in Station Heights, where Ollete had continued to buy everything she had seen. Naminé had only a small bag for herself, and that was only because Ollete had purchased her a small charm as a present.

"Are you sure you want me to take this?" Naminé turned it over in her small hand.

Ollete stopped walking and set her bags on a nearby bench. "Naminé! I want you to have it! Besides, it's perfect for you." She looked at the tiny star shaped charm.

They stopped and sat down on the bench. Kids were playing between the buildings and adults were walking back and forth through the marketplace. The light that shone from the sun reflected off the cream houses and made them shine. It was nice living in a world where it was always twilight, Naminé thought.

"Okay well if you're sure... thanks. It's really very beautiful."  
Naminé said. The star was brightly colored, but painted with a  
delicate matte paint.

It was quiet between the two friends for awhile as they sat together. The wind blew Naminé's hair around her face as the silent streets of the town were clearing away for the evening.

"Ollete?" Naminé asked softly.

Ollete turned to look at Naminé. "Yeah?"

Naminé lowered her head and tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. She had to say something important, but couldn't figure out exactly how. She said nothing for quite awhile.

"Well..." she started. She didn't know how she could say this. "We're  
best friends, right Ollete?" she sputtered out finally.

Ollete laughed. "Of course."

Naminé laughed along with her for a moment. "Yes, ridiculous question I suppose..."

"Why do you ask, Naminé?" Ollete said curiously.

"Huh?" Naminé looked towards Ollete's piercing green eyes, then promptly looked off towards the horizon, where the sun was setting. "Oh. It's just that... well perhaps you've noticed? I haven't exactly been myself lately." Naminé sighed, referring to the entire summer where 'less than normal' circumstances had taken the place of Naminé's  
usual summer routine. They had caused her to be quieter (more than usual, at least), more secluded (than usual), and much more confused about everything.

Ollete laughed again. "Oh, I've noticed, Naminé." then she looked down at her feet. "We all have." she added quietly.

"And I don't know why. I've been pretty confused recently." she said sadly. Then she laughed. "You would not believe some of the things I have seen today. Or imagined, or... something."

"Maybe you're just going through something." Ollete suggested.

"Maybe."

"Well either way, you'll always be my best friend, Naminé. Okay?" Ollete grinned.

Naminé looked at Ollete and smiled. "Promise?" she asked.

"Promise, Naminé." Ollete sealed it with a hug that was meant only for a friend. "Nolet's go find the guys." She stood. "It's getting pretty late." she said.

"Yeah." Naminé said, as she packed up her things to leave. As Ollete walked Naminé kept a few paces behind her, to gather her thoughts. She was really lucky to have a friend like Ollete, she thought, as she looked at her new charm.

"Naminé, hurry! We'll miss our train!" Ollete shouted back.

"Coming!" she called back. She slipped the charm in the pocket of her dress, and ran towards Sunset Station.

They met up with Pence and Hayner a few short minutes later. They bought their tickets, and walked the "_magical_" steps to the platform (The truth of which ending up being totally and completely embarrassing, to the disappointment of Pence).

Before they boarded their train, Ollete gave Hayner and Pence charms similar to the one she bought for Naminé. To Hayner she gave one shaped like a world ('Because,' she had said, 'He acts like everything revolves around him anyway.') and to Pence a ship ('Pence is the adventurer, he'd be the one to visit other worlds.'). For herself she  
had bought a moon, and Naminé said that had fit her because she was so bright and positive, and never seemed to go dim, even in the dark. (That's when Hayner had added, "Wow. _Deep_." Resulting in a painful looking punch from Ollete.)

Ollete said she had given the star to Naminé because she was the one that shined. ('You're the one Pence would always travel far to see. And the one I will always be with, no matter what. You're even the one Hayner would look up to in the night when he was all alone with his ego,' Ollete had said.)

"See, Naminé," Ollete was saying on the train on the way home. "You keep us all connected." she grinned happily.

"Yeah, you're our star." Pence smiled, looking at her. She blushed.

"Boys don't wear charms." Hayner scowled ahead and dropped the spherical charm on the bench where it landed with an unpleasant clank.

"Exhibit A." Ollete scoffed. "See, Hayner? The charm's perfect for you."

He glared some more, but discreetly picked the charm up and stuffed it in his pocket.

"There." Ollete smiled. "Now you all have to keep these. Forever. That way we'll stay friends forever."

"And..." Naminé said softly, "Even when we don't see each other, we can just remember... we're all still in the same universe. Together. No matter what." she smiled.

"That's the spirit, Naminé! You should share some of your productive  
thinking with Hayner."

At this they all laughed; even Hayner, even if his was more of a never-gonna-happen-so-stop-bugging-me-about-it-or-I'll-punch-you laugh.

Later as they were leaving the train, Naminé looked once more at the same spot on the glass where she had seen the mysterious person and the cut in the window. She traced her fingers across the spot where the blade had made the mark.

But it was gone.

* * *

:)

Disclaimer: I do not own KH. If I did, Roxas would be with Naminé right now. End of story.


	3. The Sixth Day

"What's on your mind, Naminé?" Pence asked, reclining from the perch on his stool at the usual spot.

Hayner put his feet on the box in front of him and placed his arms behind his head. "Who knows? She's been like this for days." he sighed.

Naminé looked up. "Do I really look that out of it today?" she asked. She was actually trying very hard to concentrate on having a good rest of the summer with her friends. She had noticed that lately it had been bothering them that she wasn't herself, and she didn't like watching it worry them.

"Today?" Hayner said bitterly. Naminé only lowered her head.

Ollete looked around at everyone. "Hey!" she tried to change the subject. "Guess what I've got, guys? For the sixth to the last day of summer." From behind her back she produced four sea-salt ice cream popsicles, and handed them around.

"Mm great, Ollete!" Pence licked his lips and carefully took his from Ollete so as not to let it drip.

"Yeah, thanks." Hayner grasped the thin stick in his hand, and quickly jumped up. "The way I see it..." he began.

"Oh boy..." Pence sighed quietly.

"The way I see it, we have to get out and do something." he said excitedly, flailing his ice cream.

"What do you mean?" Naminé asked as she carefully wiped frozen blue slush from her cheek.

"Hayner, could you not?" Ollete asked as she siphoned off ice cream from her shirt. "You're getting it everywhere."

But Hayner kept on talking. And flinging. "I mean something extravagant! Something big and fun. We've only got less than a week of vacation left." he plopped himself on a couch. "It's stressing me out."

Ollete sat up. "I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure you're too young to be stressed out."

Hayner rubbed his forehead. "It's not my fault. These summers are just too short."

"And it feels like they're getting shorter." Pence agreed.

Naminé thought. "We could take a trip somewhere." she nodded excitedly. "We could take the train to the east side of town where the shopping centers are!"

Hayner and Pence's face contorted to look extremely similar. Pence shifted uncomfortably on his seat.

Ollete was decent enough at picking up body expressions; her smile faded and her head dropped.

"Well, how about the beach, then?" Naminé tried. As she said this, something caught her eye. For the briefest of seconds, a black flash strode past the outside of the usual spot. It's basic form and shape resembled a person. "And we can... swim, and, well... you know...  
sounds fun..." Naminé continued talking as she hung off the edge of her seat to see around the heavy curtain blocking the entrance. "And... hey do you guys see... uhm... hang on a minute." Naminé stood and walked to the entrance, pulling back the curtain. Her eyes scoured the streets, but found nothing. She sighed and walked back to her seat solemnly and feeling slightly ridiculous.

"Well, I think she's officially lost it." Hayner said after a moment.

"Hayner!" Ollete shook her head.

He looked up innocently. "We all know it's true." he said.

Suddenly the trains that ran over the roof of the usual spot began to roar past, drowning out Ollete's reply. There was no speaking for a minute or two, because nothing could be heard over the menacing rumble. Shining light flickered through the wood slats of the ceiling as the passenger trains bound for Sunset Station trailed past.

For a brief second the light was dark, and Naminé could see nothing. Immediately she felt lightheaded. She felt a powerful rush, and then a flash appeared before her ocean blue eyes.

•••••••••••••••••••••••  
_  
"You must." someone said. It was a different voice than from the other day, on the train. Naminé couldn't tell what was happening, but suddenly she heard herself speak._

_"I won't." she said. Everything then came into clarity. She was kneeling on the floor, in a room of white. A tall figure was towering over her frail frame, and it seemed to be instructing her to do something._

_The figure put it's cloaked arms behind it's back and paced a few feet in front of Naminé. "I don't think you fully understand your position, Naminé." he grabbed her by her tiny arm and flung her up to her feet with extreme force. She yelped in pain and tears formed in her blue orbs._

_"This is not a choice." he continued. "You work for us. You will do what we say." he roughly thrust her to the ground._

_Then he turned her back on her, leaving her on the floor, sobbing quietly. Then he turned his shrouded face to her. "Get to work." he said sternly, and kept on walking._

_Silence. "Why?" she finally cried._

_The hooded figure stopped walking. "Why?" he questioned, without turning to face her._

_She felt weak, but she brought herself to her feet and wiped the tears from her face. "Why are you making me do this?" she questioned, the anger apparent in her voice._

_He laughed. "Because it must be done. Surely you of all people should know that." he continued walking again, his shoes clicking on the hard marble floors._

_"Why must you do this to him?" she asked, choking back oncoming tears. Her knees felt incredibly weak. They shook under her own weight._

_He stopped. "Nobody cares for him." he chuckled. "Nobody."_

_She fell to the floor again, weak. She wasn't angry anymore, she was too tired to be. "I do." she lowered her head._

_"Exactly." he stopped laughing, and walked out of the room.  
_

Crash.

"Hayner? Pence? Ollete?" Naminé awoke with a start. It was black around her again, but she knew she was still at the usual spot, because she was sitting on the same box as she was before, and the Struggle poster still hung on the concrete wall above her head.

She stood carefully. "Guys?" she called out.

"Regrettably they have all left." a voice sauntered from the corner of where two of the buildings touched. It sounded mystical, coming from the complete darkness.

She gasped. "Wh-who's there?" she stepped back from the direction of the voice into a small corner of light cast by a nearby candle someone had lit.

The voice spoke again. "I've come to warn you." The speaker's voice had an air of urgency and concern to it. It was a feminine voice, but still Naminé could see close to nothing of the mysterious stranger.

Naminé slowly groped behind her for some sort of weapon, in case she needed self-defense. Her hand brushed against a small hammer that Hayner must have been using to hang up his posters with. She carefully picked it up and tossed it over in her palm. Then the thought occurred to her that she had no idea if she could find strength in herself to use it, let alone how.

"Warn me? Warn me of what?" Naminé asked the direction of the voice.

Suddenly from directly beside her the voice said, "Time's running out, Naminé."

She screamed and jumped back, but before she could get a decent look at the person (or whatever it was) there was a rush of air, a shroud of black, and it was gone.

For a minute all Naminé could hear was the sound of her own unsteady breathing. Then one by one the street lights speckled throughout the usual spot dimmed on. Naminé gasped and looked around, but there was no one there. She dropped the hammer on a crate, then silently thanked the heavens she didn't have to actually use it. Not that she would know how to, anyway. She'd more than likely end up hurting herself somehow.

Just as she was about to sit down to rest (and to think) something shiny twinkled under the dim lights of the lamps. She carefully walked over to the object, which was lying on the ground in the exact spot from where the voice had just been. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she bent down on her knees, despite the red, dusty sand.

She scooped it up...

* * *

...

Can you guess who that was?


	4. Seashells and trains

_Like she almost remembered it._

* * *

"A shell?" Ollete looked puzzled as she cradled the palm-sized scale.

"A sea-shell, actually." Pence plucked it from Ollete's hands. "But this particular one is from the ocean... wonder how it got here." he analyzed the shell with intent fascination.

"Maybe it flew." Ollete snatched it back from Pence impatiently. Then she looked at it some more. "This is really interesting, Naminé. Where did you say you found it, again?" she asked.

"Naminé sat up from her spot on the couch in the usual spot. "Over there." she pointed. "Right under the dart had decided early that morning she was going to leave out everything else that had transpired last night, for fear of worrying them even more.

Ollete went to inspect. In the corner Pence's face was scrunched in thought, probably still wondering exactly how it was a shell could fly. Meanwhile Hayner plopped himself down on the couch, right next to Naminé. He looked at her.

"So what exactly did happen last night?" he asked with a grin.

"What? Nothing." She felt like she had said that exact phrase as an answer to questions too many times in the last few days. "What did you think happened?" she asked.

Hayner reclined in the couch and put his arm over his eyes. "Well all I know," he mumbled, "Is that when we left yesterday..."

Naminé thought back. "Yes..." she said. "Why did you guys leave yesterday?" she asked him quietly.

"Well we tried to wake you after you fell asleep, but you wouldn't come with us. And when we came back later, you had already gone." he explained.

"What do you mean, I wouldn't let you?" she asked.

"Well..." Hayner sat up and scratched his head. "We told you we were going and for you to come with us. But you said, and I quote, 'I won't.' So we left you. Well, Pence and I left you. Ollete wasn't quite sure so I had to carry her out. But we came back, I mean! We left a note, too." He tried to explain.

"Hayner, I am not mad." she smiled at him. (Naminé rarely spoke in contractions, and it bothered Hayner so much that whenever she talked without them he'd scream at her, "Talk like a human!" and he'd receive a punch from Ollete for yelling at her.)

However, it did puzzle her... she had never seen a note. And her dream. Or, whatever it was, she'd spoken it aloud. But now that she thought about it... it didn't feel exactly like a dream. It felt  
entirely too familiar. _Like she almost remembered it._

But Hayner did look immensely relieved at her last remark. He stood up from the couch. Apparently that had been enough idle chatter for him.

"Forget about the shell." He said to Ollete and Pence. "We need to find something to do where I might not accidentally fall asleep."

Ollete gave up her search and handed the shell back to Naminé, who slipped it in her pocket.

"Okay, anyone have some exceptionally great ideas for us to do? Because I think we've had enough of my fantastic ideas for one day. I'm going to let somebody else have a go." Hayner looked at each of them individually, expectation written all over his face.

"Not to burst your bubble or anything, Hayner, but I am busy as of today." Ollete sighed.

"Yeah, me too." Pence frowned. "I have to be somewhere in about 20 minutes."

Hayner's smile immediately dropped. "Whaaaat?" he whined. "We only have five more days of vacation and you have places to go? What's that about?" he said angrily.

"Sorry, Hayner." Ollete said. She got up, gathered her bag, and left through the gate out towards the street.

"Me too, buddy." Pence patted Hayner on the shoulder, and left like Ollete. "Bye, Naminé." he waved.

"Goodbye, Pence." Naminé smiled. She turned to look at Hayner, who was just standing there, dumbstruck. She got up and walked over to where he was slouching.

"Well, Hayner." She grinned, trying to keep things upbeat. "I'm still here. What would you like to do?" she asked, hoping that whatever he decided on they could do together and he'd see that she knew how to be her old self, despite whatever was going on.

He looked at her and gave up a half-smile. The his face illuminated with an idea. "Hey! Let's skateboard through the town! he practically shouted.

Naminé took a step back. "Skating..." she frowned. Even Naminé, who wasn't sure about a whole lot these days, knew that wasn't right.

"Sure!" Hayner lunged to grab his jacket, then flew in the direction of the gate. "Lets go!"

"Hayner..." she said.

He turned around. "Yeah?"

She looked him in the eyes. "I can't skate." she said.

His smile slowly sank once more as he thought about what she had said. "Oh..." he sighed. "I thought... I don't know why, I just..."

She just stared at him. What ever gave him the crazy idea that she could skateboard? It seemed ridiculous. But then again... everything seemed a little ridiculous lately.

She walked towards him. "Its okay," she laughed, deciding to take matters in her own hands. "I have a better idea anyway..."

Minutes later Naminé and Hayner were sitting on the very top of Sunset hill, watching the trains. It was a favorite spot of Naminé's. She came up there when she needed to think, or when she was sad. Something about leaning against the rail watching passing trains at twilight made her happy. Not just a regular happy, but more like an immense joy. She loved coming up there to escape everything. And for some reason she felt like she had to be doing a lot of escaping lately. But from what... she still wasn't sure.

As she stood against the rail, her dress billowing above her knees, she felt happy. Even with Hayner, who's attitude could have been very harmful to her already unstable feelings right about now.

"You know, we could be doing anything right now. Anything. And you want to watch the trains? How do you live with yourself knowing you're so boring?" he crossed his arms over his chest as he slouched on a nearby bench.

Naminé breathed in the fresh air. "You're right, Hayner. We could be doing anything. So instead of pouting maybe you could help me look, perhaps?" she leaned over the edge.

"Look for what?" he asked, trying very hard to look bored, but his eyes gave away his curiosity. He jumped up quickly, then immediately sat back down and put on his pouty, bored face.

"The train." Naminé said, like it should have been completely obvious. She peered over the edge just a little more.

"The train? Naminé there are plenty of trains down at the station, you know." then he perked up. "And ice cream. There's ice cream at the station, too." he got up quickly. "C'mon, Naminé, let's go see the trains."

She shook her head. "Not those trains, Hayner." she leaned even farther over the railing, trying to see into the tunnel underneath the hill.

Suddenly there appeared in front of her eyes a beautiful white light, and she lost herself once again. She was floating somewhere in-between reality and a dream, and then before her she saw a hill. People began to shape on it, and she realized it was Sunset Hill, the very place she was formerly standing on. As things began to clear she was astonished to see Hayner. And Pence and Ollete as well. They were sitting near the rail. But there was another boy with them... but all she could see was the back of his head. She squinted. He had... blonde hair and he was wearing a white jacket. He was listening to Ollete speak.

"We gotta make it to the beach next year." she was laying on her stomach with her hands supporting her head.

Hayner, who had his feet right next to the boy, said, "We have to get jobs the second vacation starts."

She tried to get a closer look at the boy, so she leaned closer.

"Ahhh!" she screamed. She was falling... Falling through a dream... And off the edge. Unexpectedly she was slowly slipping over the rail. She was so far off the edge she could see straight into the tunnel below the hill.

Then someone grabbed her by the waist. She was being pulled up again, and when she was all the way back on her feet she dropped to the ground, breathing heavily.

Hayner was standing over her, hands on his knees. "Wha... What is wrong with you?" he breathed. "You almost fell completely over."

She was still thinking about what she had seen, and she barely heard Hayner.

"Naminé!" He got on the ground and grabbed her by the shoulders. "What were you thinking?" he demanded.

She looked up, worried and confused. He saw the look on her face and softened his look. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

She looked up and down herself. No broken bones, she thought. She nodded to Hayner. "Hayner, I'm sorry..."

He shook his head. "Nah, don't worry about it. At least I was here to save your life." he laughed. "Otherwise we'd have one less person to go to the beach with."

She widened her eyes. The beach... Ollete...

"C'mon." Hayner helped Naminé to her feet. "You owe me an ice cream."

Naminé laughed. "Can't argue with that." she said, and they both walked down the hill towards the station.

* * *

Ahaha Naminé..


	5. He used to look different

_"C'mon." Hayner helped Naminé to her feet. "You owe me an ice cream."_

_Naminé laughed. "Cant argue with that." she said, and they both walked down the hill towards the station._

* * *

"She what?" Ollete practically screamed.

Naminé covered her ears.

"Yeah, and she didn't even buy me ice cream, even after I saved her life!" Hayner shouted.

"She already said she ran out of munny." Ollete silenced him; his financial problems were currently the least of her worries.

"Humph." Hayner rolled his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Ollete mumbled from Naminé's shoulder after embracing her in a death-grip hug.

"She won't be after your hug." Hayner practically spat. Then a chilling and excited laugh echoed in his throat. "Death by cliff fall... or suffocation? Hm."

Ollete glared at him. "Just because you can't handle anything that remotely has to do with feelings." then she hugged Naminé harder.

"I chose cliff fall." Pence nodded. Hayner high-fived him.

"Ollete!" Naminé gasped. Ollete let go but continued to hold Naminé's arm. "How exactly do you almost fall off the edge?" she narrowed her green eyes.

Naminé looked ahead. "I was thinking." she said.

Hayner jumped from the crate from which he was sitting. "Well maybe you should be doing just a little less thinking." he walked towards Naminé and put his arm around her shoulder. "You really had me freaked out." he said with concern.

Naminé squirmed from Hayners grip. "You know, I think I'm just going to go home." she sighed. She felt to preoccupied on her thoughts to even enjoy being with her friends today.

"What?" Hayner said in surprise.

She cleared her throat. "I'm a little shaken from yesterday. I just want to go."

Ollete frowned. "Naminé..." she said sadly.

Naminé ignored her. She was tired of being such a burden on her friends. They didn't deserve Naminé's recent decent into lunacy. Nobody did. Naminé grabbed her jacket and her bag and walked towards the gate that led to the street.

"Naminé, wait!" Pence shouted.

"Bye, guys." she lifted the red curtain draped over the entryway, and left.

Naminé had locked herself in her room for the rest of the day. And till noon the next. She had grown tired of being alone with her thoughts, so she had taken out her pencils and started drawing.

She sketched almost everything strange she had seen, beginning with her odd dream on the train and ending with her most recent vision of the three of her friends and the back of that mysterious boy. But the picture she had concentrated on most was the drawing she'd made of the strange figure that had looked at her on the train. Whatever it was fascinated her so much, she didn't stop drawing until she felt like she had it perfect.

"He used to look much different, you know..." a sad voice said.

Naminé was so startled she dropped her box of pencils. They scattered and rolled across her floor in a million different directions. She looked around every corner of her room, but her eyes found nothing out of the ordinary.

She barely had time to process the words that were spoken when she heard a noise outside her window.

She was in sweats and a t-shirt, so she couldn't go outside. She tried to ignore it, but it begun to be more persistent.

_Click.  
Click._

Click.

She sighed and got up from her bed to open her window. Outside, the sun was beginning to set for the night. In the distance dozens of colors were beginning to form on the horizon. Blues and dark purples and yellows and oranges were only a few of the bright hues in the sky. And red. The red travelled all the way to the very sun itself, it seemed.

"Psst!" a voice from below whispered. "Pssssssst! Naminé!"

Naminé looked down. Her room was on the third floor of her house, so she could watch the birds on the mornings and see the sunsets. She'd drawn Twilight Town's sun so many times she couldn't remember what she had done with half her pictures of it. But of all the ones she'd ever seen, this one was the most beautiful.

"Naminé!" shouted Pence from the street, his hands cupped over his mouth.

She looked down in confusion. "Pence?" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" she practically had to yell for the sound to reach him on the street.

He waved to her in joy, clearly happy that she finally opened her window. He motioned to her to unlock her front door.

Naminé sighed, knowing she would have to let him in. She tied her hair on her head with a band, then jumped downstairs to let Pence into her house.

"Thanks for finally answering." Pence beamed as he and Naminé walked through her bedroom door a bit later. "For a second there I thought you were going to consider ignoring me." he laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea.

Naminé decided to keep her comment to that to herself.

She noticed when she walked in a neatly straightened pencil case on her desk. The drawing charcoals that had been spewed across the floor were now nestled perfectly in their box, neat and tidy.

Pence's voice drew her from her thoughts. "So whatcha been doing up here for a day and a half? We've been missing you." he sat on Naminé's bed. "You know, we only have 3 and a half days of summer left." he added.

Naminé slouched in her chair, trying her hardest to forget about what had just happened, which wasn't going anywhere. "I know." she let out a melancholy sigh. "I'm sorry."

Pence got up to look at Naminé's drawings she'd put on her walls, and said absentmindedly, "Don't worry about it." he waved it away like it was nothing.

But it wasn't nothing. Suddenly she felt like she needed to tell someone. That if she didn't, she was going to go crazier than she already was. So she decided to tell Pence. "No, Pence, listen." Pence turned around and looked at her. "I guess there's really no right way to explain this, but..." she concentrated her look on her revolving blue globe in the corner of her room. It was slowly spinning it's way around and illuminating the area by her bed in a oceanic glow. The mesmerizing gleam kept her from having to look Pence in the eyes.

Pence dropped a piece of paper he was looking at on Naminé's desk and walked over to her. "Yeah?" he waited for her to finish.

Naminé chose her words with care. "Well I know this is probably one of our last good days of summer vacation, before we have to go back. And Hayner... he really wants to have fun. And he wants us to have fun, too."

Pence coughed what sounded like the word "Lies." Naminé ignored him.

Everything poured out from there. "I feel like I don't know myself anymore. And I see these things all the time... like sometimes just pictures and sometimes they're more. But I feel lost... and incomplete. I'm missing something, Pence. And I know what it is, I just can't remember."

Pence thought. "So... that's why you almost died yesterday?" he asked. "Because you're seeing these things?"

"But that's just it, Pence. Some of these things I know I'm not just imagining." Naminé rubbed her tired blue eyes. "I'm sorry I'm like this. I don't even know why."

Pence nodded like he knew what she was talking about. "Hey, Naminé." He said excitedly.

"Yes?" she looked up.

He jumped up. "We have to go back! And we can do it when we go to the beach!" he shouted with enthusiasm.

"Pence, what are you talking about?" she said, confused enough already.

"The train! We can go back to the train! That's where you started feeling strange wasn't it? We can figure out what's been going on with you, and we can help you feel better." he explained. "Then we can all enjoy the rest of summer." he beamed.

It hadn't begun on the train, and wouldn't stop there. And she knew Pence's idea would hardly begin her process of knowledge, but it made her feel better then she had for a long time. "Pence, I think that's a great idea. Thank you." she smiled.

"Well, sure! That's what I'm here for. I may not be the best at solving a problem, but..."

"But you always know exactly where to go to do it." Naminé finished for him.

Pence nodded then continued to look at Naminé's drawings. "Hey! This one is of us! And... someone." his face looked utterly puzzled at he stared at the paper. "Um, who is this, Naminé?" He showed her the picture.

It was the picture of her friends and the boy. "Oh." she blushed. "That's um... nobody."

Luckily Pence left it at that and put the picture back. "Wow, you've been drawing like crazy." he exclaimed in surprise. "I didn't think even _you_ could draw this much in two days."

Naminé said nothing but sat on her bed and looked out her open window. She let the twilight air stream warm light onto her face. As she sat there, she closed her eyes. Without opening them she felt Pence come down and sit next to her.

"You know..." he said after a moments quiet. "I almost climbed your drainpipe to get up here. But, you know, wouldn't wanna break it. But I would've."

A smile crept across Naminé's face. "There's not a doubt in my mind you wouldn't have, Pence."

As Naminé sat there, absorbing what was left of the sun, she was happy to have a friend by her side.

* * *

Short chapter again... haha gotta love Pence.


	6. Just a friend

Naminé took deep, steady, prolonged breaths until she felt her pulse return to a normal rate. She felt like she couldn't run anymore... yet here they went again.

She moaned and breathed (with difficulty), "How... are we always... so late?" to Ollete.

Ollete only shrugged and concentrated on her pacing.

"Guys! Um... girls! Let's go!" Hayner tried to "encourage" them.

"H-h-hayner!" Pence gasped. "Some people can only run so far..."

The four of them rounded a corner near the tunnels"If we don't make it in time, we won't be able to go! So c'mon already!" Hayner shouted.

"Hayner! The station is always open, you idiot!" Ollete screamed.

Hayner countered back with, "Yeah, well the beach isn't!" For which Ollete had no answer.

Finally they sprinted the hill to Sunset Plaza, and they stopped running.

Pence tripped and fell on the ground, but everyone was too tired to laugh, let alone help him up.

Naminé made a move to sit down, but before she had a chance Hayner pulled her up by the wrist and dragged her to the station entrance.

All three of them got through the thick glass doors of the station Plaza and Hayner almost slipped on the freshly waxed floors as he slid to the ticket booth.

"Four!" he practically screamed to the worker inside. "Munny!" he held out his hand to Ollete.

"Here." she slapped her munny pouch into Hayner's open hand, which he deposited to the ticket-holder. In return she gave him four shiny copper colored tickets.

Hayner handed each ticket to everyone in the group in record fast time.

He looked at the fourth ticket in his hand in disbelief. "Seriously? I bought an extra ticket?" he shouted.

Naminé looked around. "Pence!" she exclaimed. "What happened to him?"

"Oh, he's still on the ground!" Ollete ran to retrieve the exhausted Pence. She supported him through the glass doors and all four of them boarded the train.

"I take it you don't exercise much, do you?" Hayner asked Pence, who was sweating profusely.

Pence only glared back at him.

This time, as the four of them stepped off the platform onto the train, they were not alone. A tall boy with hair a brilliant silver proceeded the friends onto the train. He swiftly turned to the opposite end of the car as soon as his foot left the platform.

Naminé stared at him. He looked familiar, like an old friend, forgotten. She longed to see his eyes, which were covered by a piece of long material, tied in the back.

"I think... we just beat some sort of record." Ollete laughed. "That was crazy."

"Tell me about it." Pence gasped as he stretched himself across at least three seats of the bench.

Just then the train jerked forward and started slowly trudging forward, like always. Out of instinct everybody grabbed the side rail to steady themselves. That is, everybody but the boy on the other side, who looked like he had never ridden these particular trains before. He flew out of his seat onto the ground, his black floor length coat billowing around him.

"I've seen that coat before.." Naminé remembered.

The boy did not yell in pain, even though it appeared like it must have hurt tremendously. His facial expression didn't even falter.

Immediately Naminé stood up and, still grasping the rail, walked slowly to the silver haired boy.

Carefully she knelt down and grasped him by the arm to help him up. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

He did not answer her, but only accepted her support and sat back into his seat. He turned his shrouded eyes from her. Naminé saw she probably wasn't going to receive an answer, so she stood and started to walk back to her seat.

Just then the boy grasped her by the wrist. She turned to look at him. Slowly the boy loosened his bandage from his eyes and let it fall into his lap, to reveal the most beautiful green-blue eyes Naminé had ever seen. For the briefest of seconds he studied her in wonder. Then the smallest smile appeared on his lips, one invisible to the eye unless you were as close to him as Naminé was. Then he slowly snatched his piece of cloth and recovered his eyes with a certain grace Naminé had never seen before. He pulled his black hood over his striking platinum hair and turned his head from her.

Naminé turned slowly from the boy, and grabbed the rail once more to walk back to her seat.

"Thank you..." a soft voice said from behind her. She turned again. "Naminé." the boy smiled at her.

She wanted to speak to him, but couldn't. She wanted to smile, but she knew he couldn't see. So she walked back to her seat in silence instead.

"Well that was weird." Hayner whispered, so as to not let the boy hear.

"Seriously." Pence said.

Naminé looked at the ground. "He knew my name." she said to herself. She smiled.

Just then the train slowed and the boy stood and swiftly walked to the door. Before the door was even all the way open he walked out, and Naminé jumped up.

"This isn't our stop, Naminé." She heard Hayner say. But Naminé knew.

She watched the boy walk slowly and swiftly down the platform, and onto the streets, where he disappeared from her sight. She wanted more than anything to follow him, she felt like she had to stay by him. But before she could consider anything, he was gone.

The doors closed and the train started up again. Naminé sat down solemnly. She felt like the day Ollete had gone on vacation for the entire summer. Like she had just lost a friend.

"Naminé?" Ollete turned her head to the side. "Who was that?"

Naminé smiled and brushed a single tear from her eye. "Just a friend." she said.

"Oh." Ollete smiled.

Naminé rested her head on the back of her seat, and willed her tears to stay in her mind. There's no reason to be sad, she comforted herself. Whoever it was, if it was a friend, you'll meet again someday, she promised herself.

She closed her eyes and tried to think of something else. Anything else. But in her heart, she knew she was never going too see the boy again.

* * *

I like this chapter... even though it's short and all :).  
Kinda makes me teary, actually.


	7. A letter

"So, Naminé..." Ollete began as the two of them walked together through the sand. They had left Hayner and Pence to eat ice cream while they walked down the beach.

"Naminé was concentrating on making a mental picture of the ocean in her mind, so she could draw it when she returned. "Yes?" she asked without straying her eyes from the misty water.

"Do you remember that day on the train? When you fell asleep?" Ollete asked.

Naminé looked up. "How can I forget." she said.

"Yeah, well do you remember, when I tried to wake you up, you said, 'Sora.'" Ollete laughed.

Naminé smiled. For some reason, hearing that name made her happy.

"Was that him? On the train?" Ollete asked her.

Naminé thought. "No. No, that wasn't him. Couldn't be." She looked Ollete in the eyes. "I don't know a S..." she stopped herself. Did she know a Sora? She couldn't remember.

Ollete swung her arm that held her shoes. "Hm. Well whoever it was, he was handsome!" she chuckled into her palm.

Naminé laughed. "Ollete, I think you officially qualify as boy crazy."

Ollete smirked proudly. "That's right!" she said. Then her face transformed from one of elation to one much more solemn. "Naminé?" she asked.

They had walked to the water to wade. The frothy ocean sprayed cool, clean water on their legs. "Yes?" Naminé made a motion to sit in the sand.

"Do you think... Hayner... Is handsome?" she asked timidly, a rosy blush creeping across her cheeks.

Naminé stopped halfway between sitting and standing. She squinted at the horizon, to where Hayner was pushing Pence into the water and laughing hysterically.

She thought, but honestly there was not much thinking required for a question like that. "Sure, Ollete." she forced a crooked smile.

Evidently this was not what Ollete had wanted to hear. A quickly fading smile followed by an icy stare was one hint Naminé got of Ollete's distaste of her answer.

"Hey, you know, I think you two would look really very nice together." Naminé added hastily.

The blush on Ollete's face grew to a deep red. "Naminé! Don't be ridiculous! Hayner and I are only friends." she turned away.

Naminé laughed. "Of course Ollete. Of course." For a minute she watched the water. Then she heard a voice.

"Kairi...?"

"Huh?" Naminé looked around for the voice, but found nothing. Nothing, not even Ollete. In the distance she couldn't see Hayner, or Pence. Just beach. In a swift movement trees shot from the ground at an impossible rate and stairs melted from the ground behind her and formed a small bridge from the sand to the road. Naminé looked around in disbelief as buildings made of sticks and straw opened up on the sand around her. The only thing that remained the same was the soft sand under Naminé's feet.

Then in front of her there was a girl... no, two girls. One with hair a beautiful red, and the other a flaming orange. They wore the same outfit, which Naminé assumed was from some sort of school, because her and Ollete's looked similar for Twilight High.

The red haired girl had dropped to her knees in the sand and was placing something in the water. The other girl knelt beside her and asked, "What's that?"

"A letter." the girl answered, a slight trace of sadness in her voice. "I wrote it yesterday, to the boy I can't remember. I said that no matter where he is, I'll find him... one day." she continued. "And when I stopped writing, I remembered we made a promise, something important." The small glass bottle slowly made its way out to the ocean, bent on an impossible quest. The red haired girl looked to the other girl and smiled. "This letter is where it starts, I know it."

"Wow..." the other girl turned to the red-haired girl. "I hope he gets it."

The red-haired girl smiled. "He will." she said with confidence.

The other girl nodded.

"Starts with an S..." the red-haired girl thought. "Isn't that right... Sora?"

Then slowly the faces of the girls melted away.

Naminé gasped aloud. What had she just seen? Those girls... or at least the red-haired one... had looked and sounded so familiar. And she had talked about Sora. But who was Sora. Naminé had so many unanswered questions already, she didn't even know.

"Hey!" Naminé heard Ollete yell. "Naminé!"

Naminé awoke to find herself still on the beach. She lifted her head from the sandy ground, where supposedly she had fallen. The water lapped against her wet legs, soaking the hem of her white dress. Naminé looked around, expecting strange but anticipating normal. The tall trees were gone, and instead there was nothing but an empty blue  
sky. The wooden stairs had disappeared, and replaced by the gentle azure waters of the ocean.

"Are you hurt?" Ollete helped Naminé to her feet.

Naminé shook her head, feeling granules of soft sand trickle from her blonde hair. "Sorry, I just felt... lightheaded." she shrugged.

Ollete waved it away. "Don't apologize... But we might want to start heading back anyway... It's getting late and..." Ollete felt the side of Naminé's dress. "You're soaked." she laughed.

Naminé pinched the fabric between her fingers. "Yes... yes I guess I am." she chuckled. She must have fallen right into the water.

"No offense, but you're kind of a klutz." Ollete started to walk back to where the boys were.

Naminé followed her. "Well, yes." she giggled. "Who else can be walking on the beach and fall right into the ocean?"

Ollete smiled. "True enough." she said. They laughed together.

"Hey!" Hayner ran towards them. "Beach is closing for the day..." he said sadly, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking with them the rest of the way.

"Where's Pence?" Naminé stopped to put her shoes on. Ollete did the same.

"Getting tickets, like I told him too." he tapped the side of his head. "Good thing someone's thinking on this trip."

Ollete nodded. "You're absolutely right, Hayner." she grinned at Naminé. "Great job, Naminé."

"Hey!" Hayner pouted.

Before Ollete could laugh Pence returned with the tickets, and he handed each person their own. "Lets go!" he said.

The four of them walked side by side to the train, gave up their tickets, and boarded.

Without thinking too much about it, Naminé sat in the same spot she had the day she'd fainted on the train. Instinctively she turned around and once again looked for any trace of the blade mark made by the figure.

Nothing.

As Pence was talking about how Hayner had thrown sand at him (apparently it had gotten in his eyes), Ollete dug around in her bag. From it she produced a small pouch, and pulled her moon charm she bought herself from the bottom. She held it to the dimming light from the train's window and looked at it. The paint on it seemed to make it glow.

Slowly everyone else did the same. Hayner pulled out his world, and Pence his small ship. They held them close to their eyes and silently gazed at them in awe, transfixed by their shimmering surfaces. Naminé wondered if any of them were actually looking at them for their meaning.

Naminé dug in the small pocket of her dress. As she maneuvered her fingers through the cotton, she watched in horror as they poked out the other side through a small hole. Her charm, her munny, and the beautiful shell were gone.

Naminé felt like crying, but she held back her tears in front of her friends. She sat back in her seat slowly. Thankfully nobody said a word about the absence of Naminé's charm. Did they not notice? she wondered. Or maybe they just weren't surprised to see that she had lost the only thing they all shared.

Ollete, Pence and Hayner talked amongst themselves about the beach. Naminé let a few lone tears fall from her face. Their voices soothed Naminé's tired thoughts, and she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

:)


	8. Destiny Street

**There's always sleep between part and meet,  
with our usual words on our usual street.**

**In our usual town on the usual street,**  
**The only place where we feel complete,**

**We'll both awaken from our sleep,**  
**And gaze around at our destiny street.**

**So when I come to, let us meet!**  
**With our usual words on our usual street...**

_"He promised..."_

* * *

Naminé awoke on the second to last day of summer with a jolt. "That was the strangest dream..." she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

When she felt brave enough, she opened the shutters on her window, and the light of the morning seeped slowly in and bathed her whole room. When she felt even more brave, she opened her actual window and the sounds and smells of the outside world engulfed her senses.

"Tomorrow is the last day of summer..." Naminé sighed. She looked up suddenly. "Like my dream..." she tried to remember as much as she could, but it was slipping away...

_"Promise?" she had asked._

"Promise." the boy confirmed. Petal-like doors slowly closed around  
his beautiful face, and his smile was the last thing she had seen. The  
boy's spiky hair blew across his eyes, she could not see nor remember  
what they looked like. His hand clutched a small shell in his palm,  
and he closed his eyes.

Clank. The doors shut together, and he was gone.

Another boy, this one different. This one she had seen before. He had been imprinted in her very heart, from the day she saw him.

Granted, she couldn't remember who he was, but she knew he was important to her. And she had seen him- that vision of him with her friends. She'd been given the chance, but even now all she saw was just the back of his head, like before.

He was standing, but he was weak. His legs shook under his own weight, and possibly the weight of his weapon as well. For he wielded a magnificent blade, in the shape of a silver key. That very blade she had seen that day on the train, it had made the scratch in the glass of the outside window.

But the boy was looking at the brown haired boy from her first dream, asleep and floating in his petal chamber. The flower had opened, in the pure white room, to reveal to this mystery boy the face... of Sora.

That boy... his name was Sora. Naminé was almost certain of it.

Suddenly the boy was speaking, although Naminé could not hear his voice. He said something to the sleeping form of Sora, then dropped his head.

"Looks like my summer vacation is over..." Naminé had heard him say. She couldn't remember what his voice sounded like, she only remembered that he had said it. She also remembered watching him say it... she had wanted to help him. To run to him, and make everything better.

But she couldn't. An outside force had held her back. She could only watch helplessly as the boy was enveloped in darkness.

Despite this, Naminé felt exuberant she had remembered the other boy's name. Quickly while the image was fresh in her mind, she drew the seemingly lifeless form of Sora, whoever he was. But she stopped and puzzled over the other boy, he was causing much more confusion than Sora. She had been sad for him... Suddenly she had to know everything she could about this other boy. He fascinated her more than anything else she had seen.

A knock at her door broke her chain of thoughts.

"Naminé? Naminé, it's Ollete, can I come in?" she heard Ollete ask from the other side of the door.

Naminé jumped up and threw on a sweatshirt. "Yes." she sat back down on her bed.

Ollete opened the door and walked in.

"Oh, no..." she sat some shopping bags on Naminé's floor. "I didn't wake you up, did I?" she said worriedly.

Naminé stood and stretched. "Of course not." she smiled. "So what's up?"

Ollete laid back on Naminé's unmade bed. "Oh, I'm exhausted. I woke up early this morning to go shopping for school." The she looked at Naminé. "I would have invited you... but I figured you'd be sleeping."

"Which I was. " Naminé laughed. "Don't worry about it."

Ollete looked relieved. "Well, good. Hey, I'm going to let you get ready since you just woke up. I'll meet up with you at the usual spot, okay?"

Naminé stopped. "...with our usual words on our usual street..." she recited slowly.

Ollete stopped at the door and turned around suddenly. "What?" she asked.

Naminé snapped her head up. "Oh..." she laughed. "Sorry... a poem, I think?"

Ollete laughed. "No idea. Very pretty, though." she smiled.

"Yes... yes it is."

"Well, anyway see ya soon!" Ollete walked out before Naminé could answer her.

"Where did that come from?" Naminé wondered aloud. She got up again, this time to get ready. She found her dress, and was careful to put everything in the right pocket this time. Then she combed her hair, and put on her blue sandals.

It didn't take Naminé long to get ready, because she was able to look beautiful the natural way. She didn't need any makeup, because she already had nice, glowing skin, slightly pale as it was. And her sapphire blue eyes never ceased to amaze people. Naminé never did anything with her hair, she thought it looked best down over her shoulder and her back, so all she had to do was brush it.

She hopped down the steps of her house and jumped into the sunny street. Then she slowly walked the familiar path to the usual spot, enjoying the second to last day of freedom allotted to her and her friends.

When she reached the usual spot and walked through the gate, however, no one was there. Strange... Ollete said they were going to be there. She plopped herself on a box against the wall and tried to remember everything Ollete had said in her room awhile ago. But she couldn't think of anything Ollete had said about going somewhere else, so Naminé decided to wait.

And wait.

And wait...

She sighed. "Where are they...?" she stood and pulled back the red curtain hanging over the entrance to the spot.

What she saw startled her. A lone black figure was traipsing through the brightening streets... by itself, this time. The hood on the figure's head never budged an inch, so once again Naminé could not see who it was. It did nothing but look all around the square. It dropped its head in a sort of melancholy sadness.

"Who are these people?" Naminé whispered aloud, possibly a little too loudly. The person snapped its head up from it's search and looked at Naminé. Then with a quick snap of its fingers it produced a blackish cloud of the likes Naminé had never seen before, and it vanished into the darkness. A second later all that remained at that spot on the street... was nothing.

Those black-coated people were appearing everywhere lately... to Naminé at least. _Who could they be?_she thought.

Just then movement appeared from the spot on the street where the figure had been. Naminé looked up in expectation, but it was only Ollete.

"Ollete!" Naminé cried. "Did you see...?" she pointed to the area of the mystery figure.

"See?" Ollete questioned.

"No. Nothing." Naminé said. There wasn't much use in explaining.

"Okay then... Well anyway, no go for us today. Somehow Hayner's become really sick..." Ollete looked worried

Naminé looked at the ground. "Oh..." What was she supposed to do now?

"Yeah..." Ollete said sadly. "But he told me to tell you not to worry." she smiled. "He said you can buy him his ice cream tomorrow."

Naminé laughed. "I'll make sure to bring extra munny for seconds and thirds, too..."

"Well," Ollete chuckled. "That sounds like Hayner." she rolled her eyes.

"Ollete..." Naminé grinned. "You know what?"

Ollete looked up, recognizing the tone in Naminé's voice all too well. "What?" she said timidly.

"They say that when a girl likes a boy," she paused, letting that sink in. "She relentlessly makes fun of him."

Ollete turned a bright shade of red. "L-like? Naminé, I do NOT like Hayner!"

Naminé laughed. "Well I suppose it doesn't matter whether or not you do..." she said. "But you do seem to show it."

"I don't!" she insisted, then thought. Timidly she asked, "D-do I?"

Naminé didn't answer, but slowly softened the look of her eyes. Then she changed the subject. "Well, what are you going to do today, now?" she asked, having no idea herself.

"Well I was just going to check on Hay..." she started. Naminé widened her eyes.

"Yes?" she smirked and crossed her arms.

Ollete looked horrified at what she had said. "Oh." she squeaked.

"It's okay." Naminé laughed. "I think you two would be just perfect for each other." And she meant it, too.

Ollete neither denied nor accepted that comment. "Well," she said, changing the subject. "I'm going to get going..." she looked at Naminé, and seeing the blank look on her face, added, "Pence, maybe?"

Naminé smiled. "Hopefully. I don't know what I'll do today otherwise." she shrugged.

Ollete frowned. "I'm sorry Naminé... I know tomorrow's our last day of summer... But I don't think it would be right without everyone there, huh?"

Naminé nodded. "Of course, I understand."

Ollete gave Naminé one of her signature best-friend hugs.

Naminé tried to laugh but it was prevented by the lack of air to her temporarily constricted lungs. When Ollete let go Naminé asked, "What was that for?"

Ollete shrugged. "You looked like you needed it." Then she smiled, waved, and left.

Naminé only stared at the place where she had gone.

"And then there was one..." a whisper rose from behind her. The voice sounded similar to that of the strange one in her room.

Naminé inhaled sharply in surprise and twisted around.

But no one was there.

Naminé sighed and sat down on a box, quite used to the occasional mysterious interruptions.

Just as she was trying to interpret what the voice had said, Pence walked in through the gated entrance of the usual spot.

"Oh, hey Naminé." he acknowledged her presence with a mere wave and grabbed his jacket he had left behind on a chair. Then he pivoted around on his foot and begun to walk back through the gate.

She had not been expecting that.

"Pence!" she called out to him softly.

He spun around and said, "Yeah?"

She cleared her throat. "Uhh... what are you doing today?" she asked, without trying to be too suggestive.

"Oh... just..." His shoulders dropped suddenly. "Listen, Naminé," he sighed. "I really have to do something today. I can't hang out."

Her heart felt like it fell aways. She had no idea what she was going to do.

"I'm sorry." he added sadly.

"No, no its fine, Pence." she forced a half smile. "Go ahead. I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked.

He smiled, looking relieved. "Definitely." and he ran out the gate to the street, leaving Naminé alone... once again.

"Wow you're just getting ditched left and right, aren't you?" The exact same voice said aloud again.

This time Naminé was prepared. Not completely, but enough to not scream or gasp.

She twisted around sharply.

And this time... someone was there.

* * *

Okay so I wrote that little section in the middle about the destiny street way up there. Just.. a disclaimer. I didn't steal it. Haha.

Gosh dang Hayner and his stupid sickness. Goodness.

Can you guess who the voice is?


	9. Finding what was lost

"Axel's the name." a tall, older boy grasped Naminé by the hand and vigorously shook it. "In the very probable event you have forgotten."

Naminé had never in her life seen such flaming red hair, especially hair that spiked in so many different directions.

As the older boy gave her a crooked smile, still shaking her hand, she wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or run.

Carefully she pulled her tiny hand from his gloved ones. He was dressed head to toe in black, including the floor-length coat she had seen one too many times in the last week. The only thing that stuck out against the dark clothing was his hair.

"I don't mean to be rude..." she said."But... who are you?"

He spoke towards the ground, confused. _"I've just told her..."_ Then he asked her, "I've just told you haven't I?"

"Well, yes... And... no?"

He smiled. "You're pretty cute when you're confused. I see why he likes you."

"W-what? Who?" she asked him.

He didn't answer her, but only smiled that smile some more. Then his face lit up. "Oh! Message."

She stared at him blankly, her eyebrows crossed suspiciously.

He stared back. "Aren't you going to ask what it is?" he asked.

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me." she stated.

He leaned down (he was a considerable amount taller than she was) and whispered into her ear.

"Time... is almost up." And with that he straightened up, and cracked his back with a loud pop. "Ahhh... Nice." he cracked all of his fingers.

Naminé flinched.

"Got it memorized?" he questioned.

She'd heard _that_ before, she knew it.

"I always hate to be the bearer of bad news..." he sighed.

From out of nowhere, a dark black void appeared by the boy Axel, and he walked into it.

About halfway through Naminé called him back.

He stopped, and looked at her.

"You... picked up my pencils." she said, intrigued.

A crooked smile grew wider on his face. "I guess I'm just nice like that." then he walked through the darkness and disappeared, the void swallowing itself up after him.

On her way home Naminé thought about what Axel had said. "Times up... She had said that, too." Naminé remembered. "What does that mean?"

She was being supplied with information, but it seemed like there was no-one who could explain it to her. Somewhere inside her she knew it was important... but something was missing. Something was always missing.

By the time she reached her house it was later than she had expected, almost time for bed.

"Well," she sighed. "Guess I figured out what to do with my day..." she sighed as she walked the stairs to her room. "Nothing."

She realized she was amazingly tired from doing absolutely nothing, so she only drew for awhile then got ready for bed. Before she turned out the light, she opened her big window that overlooked twilight town. A night burst of chilly summer air greeted her as she stuck her head out to look at the stars. They gleamed an ivory white against the blackness of the night sky. Suddenly she shivered from the cold. She decided to leave the window open, however, so she could fall asleep to the light that danced along her bedroom floor.

She had just clicked off her light and was getting ready to jump back in her bed, when a gust of wind blew so strongly that the gossamer curtains on her window and the blankets on her bed whipped around in the night air. The shutters on the outside of her house clanked against the concrete. The noise startled her. Slowly she walked to the window and grasped the windowsill with her hands. She looked around the dark streets below her, and in the clear, beautiful skies above her.

"You saw... Riku?" someone from behind her asked.

That voice... This time Naminé didn't gasp. She didn't scream. She didn't even have to turn around. She knew whose voice this was.

It was her flawless voice. The voice she'd known so long... she'd just forgotten. She turned to look behind her.

"Depends..." she said slowly. She carefully stepped towards the direction of her desk, where the voice came from. "Who is Riku?"

Step. Wait.

Step. Listen.

_Step..._

"I think it depends more on... who you think Riku is... doesn't it." it was a statement, not a question.

Naminé could not bring herself to answer for several moments. This mysterious voice, speckled with hints of tantalizing darkness, methodically soothed her. She felt like all she had to do was listen to this person speak... and everything would be better. She wouldn't feel missing anymore.

"Why?" she finally asked.

Step.

She was getting closer to the direction of the voice... but through the darkness of her room she saw nothing. Her silky pajamas billowed around her knees from the slow breeze wafting through her window. She shivered.

The voice laughed. "Because in a way... I guess it all does." it said.

She was close enough to see the shape of the person now. Taller than her, but still relatively thin. And shrouded in black clothing... like Axel.

His hands traced an ebony piece of paper, with a simple and beautiful drawing of the silver-haired boy on the train pasteled onto it. He seemed to smile from underneath his dark hood.

"I didn't think he'd visit you... Naminé."

Naminé shuddered breathlessly when he said her name.

"But, then again..." the figure carefully placed the picture on her desk. "He never does cease to surprise me."

"Who are you?" she asked him.

"You wouldn't remember me if you wanted to." he sighed. "Some power is just that strong." he looked her way for a brief second.

He moved to the direction of her wall, where other pictures she had drawn were plastered neatly. He passed drawings of her friends, twilight town, and even a couple of blurry, quickly sketched figures Naminé had seen. He stopped for a split second as he glided next to the picture of sleeping Sora, but continued walking. When he came upon the picture of the blonde boy with her friends he stopped completely and let out a low laugh. It chilled Naminé to the bone.

"Isn't it funny... how we all wish it could still be that simple..."

Naminé pondered his words. And the funny thing was that it was true. Naminé wished every day for the past week she could go back. Back to where things were less confusing, less puzzling. Then she frowned.

"But... nothing is always there." she said.

The figure nodded. "'But we feel lost... and incomplete. Were missing something, Naminé. And we know what it is, we just can't remember.'"

Naminé gasped. Her words... exactly. How had he heard?

She lowered her head. The figure turned around and faced her, and then he was standing over her. He placed her dainty face In his gloved hands and pulled it gently up to him. Not all of his face was shrouded by the black. Naminé could see a sliver of the most perfect face she had ever seen... and a wisp of blonde hair.

"You... scratched the train." she exclaimed in realization.

He said, "You saw that, huh..."

Her eyes widened. "I'm sure you'll have to pay for that." she whispered.

He laughed and slowly brought her in for a hug. Sure, she didn't actually know him, but it was okay. Because it felt right, not strange. Like they were friends meeting for the first time... after a long time.

The boy unraveled himself from the hug and slowly brought his hand to meet Naminé's. He held it for a second, then in it he slipped something small, and warm from being held.

As he walked away from her, she opened her hand and brought it into the iridescent light from the window. She smiled.

"My charm..." she sighed happily, and a tear fell down her cheek. She let it fall without wiping it away. She clutched the small star in her palm, vowing to never lose sight of it again.

"Hang on to it." he said seriously.

He looked at her drawings once more. Then he jumped up quickly, causing Naminé to hop back a few inches in surprise. "A-Axel... when did you see him?" he turned to her.

"Yesterday." she answered dismissively. "Listen," she continued, "What is your name?" Even though Naminé could not see his eyes, she knew he was staring at her.

"I think we both know… you know my name."

He was right, of course. It was there, all it took was his voice to help her find it. The name burst forth to her lips before she had a chance to decipher how it would sound. "R-Roxas?"

She could hear him smile as he said, "I'm here."

Honestly and without much provocation, Naminé felt like crying. But a good cry. She felt happy beyond any measure, like she had finally almost found what was lost.

* * *

I could write about Axel forever.

Ahhh Naminé's starting to remember things..


	10. Rain: The Last Day

_"Can you tell me something?" Naminé asked._

_ "Tell you what, Naminé?" Roxas adjusted his hood over his eyes._

_ She sighed. "_Anything_."_

* * *

On the very last day of summer, Naminé, Hayner, Pence, and Ollete were sitting at the usual spot waiting for Hayner's 'Master Plan.' This, apparently, was more difficult to come up with than anyone had thought, because it had been taking Hayner over an hour to deduce his first real piece of a blueprint. And, honestly, it didn't truly count as much of a 'plan.'

"Well, I guess that leaves the question of... who wants to go get ice cream?" Hayner put his hand over his mouth in thought.

"Hayner, why do you need ice cream?" Ollete sighed and rubbed her temples.

"It helps me think." he retorted defensively. "So, who wants to go?"

Everybody sighed simultaneously. Naminé coughed amid the absense of volunteering voices.

Hayner smiled. "Naminé! How thoughtful."

"Bu-" she started to protest.

"Be back soon!" he shouted and pushed her towards the direction of the road that led to tram common. "Can't waste the last day of summer!"

"I haven't got any munny!" she called to him. But he didn't hear her, so she sighed in defeat and walked the familiar path to the shopping square. As she walked she passed in-between massive cream buildings and small, quaint ones that reflected the light from the setting sun.

And then, very suddenly, Naminé was overcome with joy. In that moment she wished it could've stayed like that. She wanted to be in that exact spot, in that exact moment, forever. She didn't want It to be the last day of summer. She didn't want to go back to routine. But in her heart she feared nothing was going to be the same anyway. She didn't know how, or why. But she knew something was different this summer... something that couldn't be changed.

As she was walking through the streets and amidst the sun-bathed shops, she felt a drop of moisture fall from the skies and land with a small splash on her cheek. At first she thought it to be a stray droplet from a neighboring garden's sprinklers, but dismissed this upon seeing that as she walked along the street more and more pelted her soft cheeks.

With the back of her hand she wiped them away as they came. Rain? No, it didn't rain in twilight town. The only way Naminé had ever even heard of rain was from stories. Stories of people who had travelled beyond her world, and felt the rain in new far away places. So why was it raining? she wondered.

The drops became more consistent; they pelted Naminé with a pattern- like rhythm. She grinned as she looked up towards the sky as a thousand clear raindrops melted onto her skin. Then, out of pure happiness, she held the bottom of her dress and danced through the common. Her hair was wet and matted to her face, and each tiny droplet clung to a strand and dissolved. Around the Square amazing rain was dripping from the sky, long since overdue. But also equally... impossible. But regardless of the improbability of this misty, impromptu rain, Naminé let it fall on her, without taking cover.

Naminé decided to share this immense joy with her friends, but she had promised to get ice cream; though had completely forgotten how she might pay for it. So she skipped and jumped through the puddling streets until she made it up the hill to Sunset Plaza. From where she could see, the tall clock tower was being drenched in the rain. She ran to the small, slightly-submerged ice cream shop nestled alongside the station tower to buy some sea-salt ices.

When she remembered she didn't have munny, she sighed and sat under the huge steps leading to the big glass doors of central station. She stared straight ahead at the soaking town. She didn't think about how she was going to get ice cream, all she could think about was the rain. It seemed to wash away all her fears of the future and memories from the past, and it made her feel clean.

"You know if you hadn't any munny, you should have asked." A sky blue sea-salt ice appeared in front of her face, held by a thin black gloved hand.

Naminé took it carefully. She had just realized she didn't want it; she was already in serious danger of catching a dreadful cold as it was. But she took a small bite anyway. She shivered.

Roxas slowly lowered himself down on the dry step. As she looked Naminé could see his face was still covered by the black material of his hood, so she could still not see him as clearly as she'd hoped.

Naminé thought about her reply, hoping it could make up for her giving the ice cream back, as she was now shaking profusely from the cold. "How can I? I've no idea where to see you." she answered.

He turned to her. "You're seeing me right here, aren't you?" he pointed out.

All Naminé did was nod. The cold was making her drowsy.

"And I rather like this spot." Roxas continued and strained his neck to look upwards.

"Although... A little bit... _higher_."

Minutes later Roxas had led Naminé to the highest point of the clock-tower. (which just so happened to be REALLY high up). Of course, Naminé had done her fair share of objections, pleading, and moaning, but now that they were up there, she saw what was so great about it. In addition to the marvelous view of the whole north side of the town,  
Naminé had a clear, perfect view of the sky. This included the picturesque and prismatic sunset, which was finally starting to clear. Leaving in it's wake of joy soaked streets, fresh air, and a sopping wet Naminé, who was the only person lunatic enough to run uncovered through the square in the pouring rain.

"Are you cold?" Roxas asked Naminé in concern.

She wrapped her arms around her skinny waist. "No." she smiled. "It felt nice."

"Ah, so that's why you were dancing in the common." he laughed.

She blushed. He had seen her?

"I've never felt rain before." she gazed at the sky.

Roxas scoffed. "You what?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Twilight Town does not get rain."

He sounded skeptical. "Naminé, I've seen some pretty crazy things but nothing compares to a town never having rain. That's ridiculous."

"Yes?" she looked at him. "What crazy things?"

It surprised Naminé in some aspects that she was even speaking to this boy. And it surprised her even more that even though she had just met him, she would trust him with her life. But in other ways it didn't. She felt like she had just reunited with a very old friend, one she wasn't meant to be separated from in the first place. So as she sat with Roxas, and talked with him, it felt completely and totally right. And that's what surprised her the most.

He leaned back against the concrete slab backing the place where they were sitting. "Well," he decided. "I've defeated heartless the size of half this tower."

"Well that _is_ crazy." she laughed. "Depending solely on what a heartless is, however."

He put his arms behind his head.

Suddenly Naminé saw a blurry vision of the same thing, but different. The boy was wearing red, and his hair was spiky and brown. But his eyes were closed. It flashed through her mind for only a second, then Roxas was there again.

"...Naminé?" he asked. "You there?"

She refocused her attention. "Yes, sorry."

He sat up. "What did you see?" he asked like he knew she had seen something of importance.

"Um... well I'm not sure, entirely. But it looked like a boy... wearing red."

"What did he look like?" he asked seriously. From where his head was turned she could tell he was staring right into her eyes.

She smiled. "Almost like you. But with a face."

He laughed. "I've got a face, Naminé. Maybe someday you'll see what it looks like." he rested once more against the wall, and stared into the sunset.

Naminé had no idea what to say to this, so she leaned back against the wall too and closed her eyes.

"Roxas?" she asked quietly after a few moments silence.

"Hm?" she heard from the space beside her.

She sat up. "Who was that girl?"

He turned his covered head slightly and looked at her. "Um..."

"She came to me. She told me that 'time was running out.' And I think..." Naminé thought back. "I think she dropped a... shell."

At the word shell Roxas sat up. "Xion..." he whispered.

Naminé couldn't recall anyone of that name. "Who?" she asked him.

"No one... well, I mean... just somebody from work, I guess. I don't think she was supposed to see you." he was quiet for awhile.

Naminé let him think in silence. When she couldn't handle not talking any longer she asked, "Roxas?"

He didn't look but acknowledged her with a, "Mm?"

"Can you tell me something?" she asked.

"Tell you what, Naminé?" Roxas adjusted his hood over his eyes.

She sighed. "Anything." she said.

He laughed. "Like what?"

Naminé had so many questions she didn't even know where to begin. She decided to ask, "What exactly is happening with me?" knowing it basically covered all her general enquiries.

He was quiet again. "I... I can't say Naminé." After looking at the deflated look on Naminé's face, however, he said, "But it's going to be okay. You have to trust me." Naminé saw a glimmer of a reliable, truthful smile underneath his wisps of golden hair.

Naminé already trusted him. "Trust somebody who won't even show me his face?" She smirked for fun.

"What? Naminé doesn't trust me?" he pouted.

She didn't say anything but lifted her eyebrow. "Maybe..."

He jumped up. "Well, I'll have to change that!"

"Uh, I don't think-" Naminé began.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Liquid-like warmness flowed through her hand to her face, and a small blush crept across her cheeks.

"Hope we don't fall." he said as he led her to the center of the towers face side.

"What?" she exclaimed in terror.

He faced her. "Ready to fly, Naminé?"

Now she was getting scared. "Fly? I c-can't! What are you doing?"

"Proving you can trust me." he tightened his grip on her hand.

"This is suicide!" she screamed to the air.

"Nonsense." he scoffed. "Shoot for the ground. If you miss, you'll land on the ground. Win-win." he said.

"Win-what?" her big blue eyes widened in fear.

"Look, Naminé." he released her hand. "How am I ever going to prove to you that you trusted me if you don't give me a chance?"

Trusted? she looked at him. "Roxas... do I... know you?"

"Do you?" his voice dropped lower. It made Naminé shiver slightly. She couldn't answer but looked down over the ledge and whimpered. "I think I'm going to go back down now, thank you."

Roxas laughed then grasped her hand again. "Jump!" He bent his knees and leapt from the tower, taking Naminé with him.

She didn't have time to scream. (She barely had enough time to make a mental note to remind herself that Roxas was totally and completely insane.) But a split second later she was flying. Well, falling. But in the air, watching the buildings melt around her and holding Roxas' hand; it felt like the most elated form of flight. As euphoric as the feeling was, however, it lasted only moments before Naminé looked down and saw the concrete coming closer. She gasped. From the corner of her eye she saw Roxas stretch his black covered arm and open his palm. A great dark chasm opened between Naminé and Roxas and the ground. Naminé closed her eyes in preparation for impact, but no such force came.

"Naminé!" she heard Roxas call. She opened her eyes. They were surrounded by a lengthy dark corridor. Slowly they were falling through a black void. And then...at the end...a light was opening. Naminé closed her eyes…

* * *

Roxas can fly! But, we already knew that ;)


	11. Holder of his Heart

_"Naminé!" she heard Roxas call. She opened her eyes. They were surrounded by a lengthy dark corridor. Slowly they were falling through a black void. And then... at the end… a light was opening. Naminé closed her eyes._

* * *

...Naminé...

There was that voice again. How she loved to listen to it. Sometimes it appeared in her dreams... flitting among forgotten promises, nameless faces, and unknown friends. But she never knew who's it was... until now.

"...Naminé. Open your eyes." She heard Roxas say softly. Gently he grasped her by the shoulders and lifted her up. She obeyed and slowly opened her eyes.

Whiteness blinded her, and everywhere blurred into a clear bland nothingness. Roxas pulled a piece of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. Liquidy warmth coursed through her entire being again, waking her up; bringing her back into life. She shivered and closed her eyes for the third time.

"Open your eyes." Roxas repeated.

Naminé clamped her tiny hands over her face. "No, thank you." she said.

He pulled her hands from her face. She opened her eyes and when she was looking he sat back and laid his cloaked head in green plants. "Told you you could trust me." he said proudly.

Naminé looked around. She and Roxas were both sitting in fresh, never touched looking grass. It smelled as sweet as it looked. Dreamily Naminé ran her hand through it. It was caked with dew, and its watery droplets clung to her palm. "And how exactly is pulling me off a tower supposed to get me to trust you?" she asked him, still inspecting her surroundings. Behind her there was forest-like foliage poking through the mid afternoon sky with the sun particles floating silently amidst the bright reflections off the grass. In realization Naminé soon recognized exactly where she was. Not by sight, not by sound, but by touch. Grass was only so soft in twilight town in one place, and that place was the mansion.

And sure enough, as Roxas pulled Naminé off the ground she came almost face to face with the towering structure, separated from it only by the tall black gate that encased it's entrance. It seemed to do its job of menacingly guarding the solemn castle so well that even the small white birds that usually fluttered in and out of the trees were nowhere to be seen.

"I saved you, didn't I?" Roxas said. "Besides, I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

"Why are we here?" she asked him, straightening up and wobbling slightly on her unstable balance.

Roxas, however, looked completely unfazed by their little near death escapade. He merely stood, stretched, and said, "Don't you remember this place?"

Naminé didn't answer but only stared at the mansion. It was just like she remembered... only... what was that? For a half a second she thought she saw a quick and decisive movement in the top right window... She shook her head. "Must be my imagination..." she said surely.

Roxas dusted the grass from his coat. "What must be?" he asked her.

"Are there curtains in that window?" she asked him as she directed her pointer finger to the section of the house where she had seen it. "The one on the right?"

Roxas smirked. "Well I guess the only way to find out... is to go see!" he started running towards the direction of the gate.

Something nudged inside Naminé. She did not want to go here. White-hot discomfort flamed her insides. This place... she had been here so many times before, but this time, for some reason it was different.

"Wait!" she reached out and grabbed Roxas by his black coat in a futile attempt to stop him. Turned out, Roxas was a little bit stronger than Naminé was.

He laughed as she hung limply from the ground and he barely put up a struggle. "Naminé, I don't think you can take me down."

We'll see about that, Naminé thought. Swiftly Naminé twisted her leg around and knocked Roxas clean off his feet and on top of her. This she obviously didn't think through, however, because after half a second of feeling proud of herself for the trick Roxas came tumbling down on top of her with a thud. "Whoaa!" they both yelled.

Naminé opened her eyes to find Roxas face to face to her. His hand had flown to the back of her head to protect it from the fall. She could feel him breathing, but she could not feel the slow and steady beat of his heart like one would expect, and oddly enough, it was the very first thing she looked for. Silently she reached up and placed her warm hand on his chest. She waited for what seemed like several seconds, but she could feel no distinguishable rhythm.

"What are you doing?" he said softly. Neither of them made a motion to move.

She felt around his chest, but still felt nothing. "Looking for your heart." she smiled, but was genuinely committed to finding it, longing a comforting beat.

Roxas reached with his free hand and lowered his black hood from his face. Slowly shadow melted into clear, cream colored skin. Then his whole face, previously masked by a cloak of darkness, came into full view for Naminé. His creamy skin was a slight shade darker than hers. He had hair the most striking blonde, like Naminé's, but again, darker. It seemed to fly in a hundred different directions, in spikes that seemed to defy gravity. But somehow it all seemed to gather together perfectly... meaning it didn't look ridiculous. It actually looked... familiar somehow.

Naminé gasped when Roxas opened his eyes. They struck Naminé as the most vibrant form of an seascape blue, stolen from the very ocean itself. Suddenly Naminé got a flash of memory. Those eyes... were not just Roxas' eyes. They were Sora's eyes, too. Now, as she saw Roxas' eyes, she remembered what his looked like. In fact, Roxas looked so much like Sora that for a moment she had trouble distinguishing them from one another. However, as their two faces melted into the one, so familiar, it quickly simplified to only

the face of Roxas. And finally... they looked at each other for real.

"I think..." he slowly reached his hand to where Naminé's heart would be."It's right here."

Naminé sat up and wrapped her tiny arms around Roxas' neck and held tight. She still couldn't feel his heart, but she knew it was close. After several moments she let go and looked him in the face she had longed to see for so long. She smiled and pinched a piece of his spiky golden hair in her fingers.

"I like your hair." she laughed. He smiled, and everything else in the world melted away. Then Roxas stood and grasped Naminé by the hand to help her up.

"Let's go inside. I need to show you something." he started walking closer to the gate.

Even though Naminé felt more safe, comfortable, and happy with Roxas now, she still felt a twinge of nervousness at the thought of going into the mansion. She frowned. She was going to do this, she thought. At least for Roxas. She pushed her innermost doubts to the furthest point she could reach in the back of her mind. Timidly she took a step forward.

"Naminé, let's go!" a small brunette tugged insistently on her hand.

Naminé looked around. She was at the exact same spot... but it was different. In front of her a younger Ollete pulled with determination on her arm, trying to get her to take a small step closer to the mansion.

"Please, Naminé, it's not scary!" Ollete sighed in defeat and fell exhaustedly in the grass.

Naminé shook her head. "I am not scared." she crinkled her eyebrows in thought and slowly her cerulean eyes dropped to the ground. "But I cannot go in there."

Hayner, who had been standing with Pence by the gate, clomped over to Naminé in his massive army boots. He put his arm over her skinny shoulder and said, "Ah, why? It'll be fun. Who knows what's in there." he added dramatically.

Naminé shook her head. "...No..."

"Well what if-" Hayner began again.

"Naminé." Ollete appeared by her side after thrusting Hayner to the ground with sheer unaided force.

"That was unnecessary!" he shouted in anger from the grass.

Ollete ignored him. "We only want to check it out. We'll leave after we look around for a minute." Ollete tried to convince Naminé.

Naminé said nothing but looked up and tried her hardest to smile. Apparently Ollete had caught a glimpse of the sadness in Naminé's eyes, however, because she softened her look and took hold of Naminé's hand.

"You know what..." Ollete smiled. "Maybe we should just go back."

"What?" Hayner and Pence shouted simultaneously.

"If you don't feel okay about it, we won't go." Ollete grinned. "Besides, there's plenty of other stuff to explore."

Naminé was so grateful at that instant to have Ollete. But she shook her head.

"No." she said. "What's a little adventure going to do?" she smiled, and bravely took a step forward.

* * *

Alot of this story will be primarily based on flashbacks, just so you know :D They're kindof heard to keep track of.


	12. Remembering

_"Naminé, if you don't feel okay about it, we won't go." Ollete grinned. "Besides, there's plenty of other stuff to explore."_

_Naminé was so grateful to have a compassionate friend like Ollete. But she shook her head anyway. "No..." she said. "What's a little adventure going to do?" she smiled and bravely took a step forward._

* * *

"Naminé? You okay?" Roxas placed a concerned hand on her back.

Naminé closed her eyes, trying to muster the courage to keep walking, despite the continuous nag she was feeling in the pit of her stomach. She nodded silently to Roxas.

He kept walking with Naminé trailing slowly behind. When they reached the gate they found it locked.

"Oh, no." Naminé shrugged, pivoting on the heel of her foot and spinning towards the opposite direction.

"Wait." Roxas grabbed her by the wrist. Then he ran his hand through his spiky hair in thought. "Maybe..."

"We have no key." Naminé pointed out, not that this needed pointing out.

Roxas thrust his hand to the side. Immediately a vibrant chain of iridescent colors sparkled and materialized around his hand in a way Naminé had never witnessed before. Then before her eyes, as if by magic, a long silver handle wrapped itself around Roxas' wrist, followed quickly by the thinner part of what appeared to be a key. It stretched out to at least half of Roxas' height, and possibly even taller on Naminé. Roxas lifted it with no trouble at all, and began to twist it strategically like he had used it many times before.

He smirked at Naminé. "Who needs a key when you have a keyblade?" he said. Then he pointed his ''keyblade'' at the thick padlock of the gate. Sparks flew from the key to the lock, and a thin line made entirely of light was created to connect the two. Naminé heard a click, and the padlock fell in a chained heap to the ground. Roxas lowered his keyblade and it disappeared in his hand.

Naminé was so shocked she had forgotten to close her mouth after speaking. "What... was that?" she whispered.

"My keyblade." he shrugged like it was no big deal.

Naminé squinted suspiciously. "Right." she cautiously walked towards the gate, her eyes not waning from Roxas' hand.

He continued to walk through the gate but soon noticed her staring. "What?" he stopped.

"How many doors does that thing open?" she cocked her head to the side and kept her eyes narrowed.

He played with the zipper of his coat. Then he produced his keyblade and held it at arms length as he looked at it in thought. "Almost any, I'd think."

Any? Even her own?

"Right." she said again. Funny thing was, Naminé thought, it did look strikingly familiar. Whether she remembered or not, she had seen it somewhere before. But it had belonged to someone else.

"Naminé." Roxas motioned for her to follow him. She shook aside her thoughts of the keyblade and obeyed.

It took all of Roxas' strength to push open the weighted door. He breathed heavily as he gave one last shove, and the door flung fully inwards with a loud crash that echoed multiple times throughout the empty room ahead. Slowly Naminé peered in at the ghostly, abandoned mansion. The foyer was cloaked in a copious blanket of black, so that it was hard for Naminé to see straight in front of her. Roxas seemed to know his way around all too well, however, because without alerting Naminé he once again shielded his blue eyes with his hood and made sure, swift strides into the room.

Naminé sighed, knowing she had to go along. She placed her small hand on the frame of the huge door. Then she took one last glance at the sunny meadow before following Roxas into the darkness.

"A chest." Roxas tapped the top of the small red and gold box lightly. Its top flew open. He turned to Naminé. "Did you know you're supposed to open these?"

Naminé only stood there. "Well... generally... that's what chests are for."

"Hm. Yeah, I guess." he reached inside and from the wooden box he produced a small flask of a deep purple liquid. His shoulders dropped in disappointment. "Here." he tossed it at Naminé.

She fumbled with the glass bottle in her hands. "What is it?" She held it up to see better, but the lack of any real source of light in the dim entrance hall of the mansion prevented her from deducing what it was.

"Only a potion." Roxas kept walking. "You can leave it if you want."

Naminé carefully set the potion back into the chest. Just as she was about to close the lid she stopped, and picked it up again. Maybe she would need it, she thought. She turned over the small glass in her hands then slipped it in the pocket of her dress.

Unexpectedly she heard a loud noise that erupted from the top most room of the second floor of the huge house. She looked up abruptly to see a bright flash and the sound of something hard hitting the floor.

Roxas, she thought. Taking little caution to tripping, she blindly stumbled her way through the dark hall and past the third door on the right and up the stairs, where she rounded the corner and into the room where the noise was coming from. Standing in the middle of the musty room was Roxas, keyblade in hand, and an odd number of small black creatures littering the surface of the floor.

"Heartless." he kicked one with his foot and in a shower of black sparks it disappeared. "We'd better hurry."

Naminé stepped cautiously over each dark heap. "What are they?" she bent down and inspected one. In a flurry of black it vanished in front of her face.

Roxas' keyblade vanished. "Followers of the darkness. Try to avoid them, okay?" he said.

Naminé nodded. Then she stood and shivered in the dark, dank castle air. Roxas came over and stood next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

Naminé stayed like that for several seconds. Then she turned to look at Roxas. "Why did you bring me up here?" she asked him, starting to feel uncomfortable, like she needed to leave.

Roxas sighed. "Follow me." He said, and slowly trudged out of the room.

Naminé followed him with instinctive caution down the musky hallway. Side by side they both walked through an eroded, black door sandwiched between a precarious looking staircase and dark broom closet. Naminé expected it to be just as gloomy as the rest of the mansion, but was pleasantly surprised.

The room was all white: pure, untainted, unmarked white. The walls, the chairs, even the white bed that looked as if it had been long forgotten. But still not a dent was inserted in the blanket nor the tiniest speck of dirt on the pillow. The chairs were caked with a small layer of grey dust, but looked as if they could be blown clean by the smallest sigh. Lining the walls were rows and rows of forgotten drawings and colored pictures of parchment; visible against the white walls only when the outside sun hit them at a certain point. When Naminé saw these she inhaled sharply and walked towards them. She stopped at a quickly scribbled portrait of a brown haired boy, haphazardly taped to the very last section of available surface. The boy's eyes were colorless: a clear, milky white, like someone had forgotten to paint them in.

She looked to the left and right of her, on the white bookshelf where she normally kept her colored pencils. She needed the blue one but it wasn't-

She stopped, lowering her hand. Just for a second she felt like she knew where it was, but how could she? She turned away and tried to laugh it off quietly, but it hung in the back of her mind heavily.

Roxas had left her side. He moved to the other side of the room towards the bed, and he was running the tips of his fingers along its duvet. "Still clean." he said, inspecting his fingers.

Naminé walked over to him. "Probably just as comfortable as it used to be." she sat on it.

Roxas looked at her quizzically, analyzing her reaction by his eyes.

Naminé was taken aback. Wherever that had come from had been from deep inside. Meaning it was true. As Naminé felt the cold fabric with her hands she smiled. "I remember... I remember this bed."

Roxas sat down next to her. "You remember."

Naminé smiled. "Yeah."

"You know what this means, right?" Roxas smirked.

"...What?" Naminé proceeded with caution.

"You know I was telling the truth. And that means... you can start to trust me again."

Naminé laughed softly. "You are obsessive." She looked him in the eyes.

"I'm what?" Roxas started laughing. "I've been called a lot of things, but never obsessive."

"Well clearly you have trust issues." Naminé played on.

"Please. The only person I don't trust is Axel. And that's only when he has fire." Roxas lay back on the bed, thinking. "And every other time he's near me."

Naminé leaned over him. "But you trust me." she said.

"I guess..."

Naminé punched him in the arm. Hard.

"Ah, Naminé!" Roxas rubbed his shoulder as Naminé laughed, feeling a little too much like Ollete for her taste.

Roxas grabbed Naminé's arm and pulled her onto the bed.

"Ahh!" she screamed, getting the wind knocked out of her chest as she fell between the feathered comforter.

Roxas started tickling her. "That'll teach you for punching me!" he laughed.

"Stop!" Naminé panted; still unable to breathe, but now laughing quietly. She held her hands in front of her to stop him.

"Okay." Roxas flipped over and laid next to Naminé again, breathing heavily. Between smiles his eyes softened as he looked at her, and brought his hand between her head and the white fabric. She made no motion to pull it away, and felt herself closing her eyes without thinking. She felt him move closer…

"Wait. Wait just a flipping minute." A voice came from the other side of the room. Both Roxas and Naminé leapt up quickly and looked in the direction of the owner. Roxas pulled his arm from Naminé. When he saw Axel he jumped up from the bed and smoothed out his cloak and, adopting a deeper, more professional voice said, "Hello, Axel."

Axel sat in one of the white chairs on the other side of the room. A small pile of dust was on the white carpet. When Roxas spoke he put his muddy feet on the white table and reclined. Naminé flinched, somehow protective of the cleanliness of the entire room. "Save it man, I've been here for awhile." he sighed.

Roxas dropped his head and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"You know you're not supposed to do this... time's almost up." Axel closed his eyes and drummed his fingers on the table to an inaudible beat. "Finish what needs to be done."

Roxas said nothing to this. Naminé broke the silence by saying, "Hello, Axel."

Slowly Axel looked Naminé's way and furrowed his eyebrows, clearly surprised and perhaps slightly annoyed at the sudden interruption. "Hi..." he said awkwardly.

"Thank you for telling me." she said. "The news. Even though it was bad."

Axel smiled. At that Naminé said nothing else but stood in respectful silence.

Roxas spoke to Naminé without taking his eyes off the ground. "I still need to show you something." he said and grabbed her wrist, pulling her into a separate room and away from Axel.

Before she left Naminé checked the window for curtains.

There weren't any.

* * *

Thumbs up if you get literally _any _of the many 358/2 days innuendos I sprinkled through this chapter.


	13. Falling Memories

_Roxas spoke to Naminé without taking his eyes off the ground. "I still_  
_need to show you something." he said and grabbed her wrist, pulling_  
_her into a separate room and away from Axel._

_Before she left Naminé checked the window for curtains._

_There weren't any._

* * *

"Here it is." Roxas swept a heavy, white sheet off of a tall indistinguishable object. It was very high: reaching almost to the ceiling. Naminé walked timidly from the open door to the center of the room. What Roxas had uncovered looked like...

"Do you know what it is?" He leaned against it and asked her.

Naminé looked at it. "Uh, I'm going to _guess_... it is a mirror." She arched her eyebrows.

He laughed. "Sorry."

She didn't answer, but just ran her hand along the jagged, broken kinks on the mirror. It was terribly broken in many places. It looked like something hard and concentrated had hit it. The white-washed frame and rust splattered glass looked familiar to Naminé, but not in a good way. She felt the same discomfort she felt when they were walking into the mansion. In the white room she felt comfortable. She felt safe. But here... she just wanted to leave.

"Touch it." Roxas said. His voice was a vain demand disguised by a suggestion. But Naminé couldn't. She backed away.

"Why are you showing me this?" she crossed her arms and stood back, staring at him.

He just looked at her. "Wait, you don't-" he walked over to her. "Naminé, you don't remember?"

"I do not understand..." she shook her head. "What is it I am supposed to be remembering?"

Roxas stared at her. "This is where-"

A very large crash cut him off. "Roxas, get down!" Axel warned, yelling from afar. Then a loud rumbling erupted from the next room over, coming closer and closer to where they were standing. Naminé couldn't hear Axel after that.

Frightened, she yelled, "Roxas!" amidst the ear-splitting din of splintering wood and shattering glass. Instinctively Roxas ran to her, putting his arm around her head and ducking his own towards the ground.

And then possibly the loudest noise Naminé had ever heard exploded in her ears. She felt herself screaming but she could hear nothing but the dreadful row bursting beside her. She clutched Roxas' cloak and he withheld a death-grip around her thin waist. She looked up just in time to see the entire south side of the room cave outwards in accordance with the explosion. Bits and fragments of the door and walls fell about the remainder of the floor and down into crevices by the stairs, which Naminé saw cave into the ground level. Bright light burst into the room uninvitingly as the concentrated force blew outwards into the midmorning air outside. And then one last piece off wood cluttered to the floor below and the small birds could be heard chirping from outside, and all was still once more.

Roxas' head slowly emerged and he looked all around him at the rubble and debris, and more intently at the gaping holes in the floor and western wall. He breathed out sharply and looked back at Naminé.

"You're bleeding." Roxas touched her face and pulled back blood. "Are you okay?"

She felt her face and found a small number of tiny cuts. Her fault. She'd pulled her head up before it was over. She looked at Roxas and smiled wearily. He breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her tightly. She hugged back.

After awhile she opened her eyes and breathed, "Axel."

This reminder caused Roxas to jump up quickly and turn towards the door (Or what remained of it) and jump over the hole in the floor. "Axel!" he called as he ran through to the next room. "Axel!"

Naminé got up and felt her legs get wobbly beneath her. She rocked on them for a moment. When she was able to walk again she stepped slowly on the toes of her sandals through the mess of the room, peering around the side of the house. It was very quiet; all she could hear was the click of her shoes against the scratched wood. The tiny noise reverberated through the room and made her shake slightly. A small steady breeze from outside blew back her flaxen blonde hair around her face, creating a slow rustling noise that sounded its alarm approachingly. She realized she was now shaking violently, though it was very calm outside. The dust from the splintered walls floated heavily in the air aback the sun and spun in little circles with the wind. Everything was fine, and lulled back down to a calm and noiseless interior. But whatever had caused the explosion couldn't have just gone away. It stayed in the back of Naminé's mind encroachingly.

It had to be coming back.

Naminé called Roxas' name but received no reply from the dusty air. She wasn't expecting an answer but when none still came she teetered dangerously over the hole in the floor, trembling. A glint of something caught her eye. She spun around quickly and widened her eyes at the sight of the ornate, old mirror glinting fragments of light off the sun. It was hanging and wobbling very close to the edge, almost about to topple over onto the ground floor below. She threw her arms out to grab it before it fell...

But she stopped just as soon as she started. The same feeling that had surfaced when she saw the mirror came over her again. Did she really want to save this?

No, she decided, pulling back her hand slowly. She didn't care if it fell. In fact, for some reason, she'd _rather _it fell. She was thinking about the possibility of maybe pushing it over when another noise met her ears, but this one different. This one a long, loud groan that made the whole room shake under its discord. Naminé held onto the edge of the hole in the floor for support and blocked a few falling chunks of wood with her hand. A second later it had subsided and Naminé sighed in relief. As she sat up she brushed some blood from her face, and willed herself to acquire the urge to get up and find Roxas.

Scrape.

She looked over at the mirror and gasped. Because of the tumult of the noise almost half of it was teetering over the edge and the rest was slowly following behind. Naminé panicked. Suddenly she didn't care about her previous apparitions about the perplexing glass, and wanted more than anything to save it from such a fall. It was almost gone now. "Wait!" she screamed in futility, and pushed her scraped hands off the floor and towards the rusted frame.

As Naminé's skin articulated with the metal a rising, icy sensation shot up her arm, but she didn't have time to pull back. Before her eyes she saw a quickly drawn out flashback of herself: and Roxas, Axel, others she knew only by face... They came so fast she couldn't even describe each scene. As soon as she pulled her hand back from the mirror they stopped altogether, and Naminé remembered the mirror was slipping. She reached out her hands to grab it, more tediously this time.

But it had already fallen.

Naminé watched in absolute horror as the scene unfurled beneath her navy eyes. Slowly, as if purposely trying to taunt her, the mirror clattered its way down the darkening hole beneath her feet, where her outstretched palms could reach it no more. 

* * *

I know it's short! Don't call me out on it!


	14. A Meeting Place

_As Naminé's skin articulated with the metal a rising, icy sensation shot up her arm, but she didn't have time to pull back. Before her eyes she saw a quickly drawn out flashback of herself: and Roxas, Axel, others she knew only by face... They came so fast she couldn't even describe each scene. As soon as she pulled her hand back from the mirror they stopped altogether, and Naminé remembered the mirror was slipping. She reached out her hands to grab it, more tediously this time._

_But it had already fallen._

_Naminé watched in absolute horror as the scene unfurled beneath her navy eyes. Slowly, as if purposely trying to taunt her, the mirror clattered its way down the darkening hole beneath her feet, where her outstretched palms could reach it no more._

* * *

Naminé never did over-think things. She had always been an analyzer and intellectual processor, but when it came the time to just let things happen the way they should she never thought too much about it. She'd rather sit back and watch; interject or jump in if she was needed. Over-thinking things, in her opinion, never got anyone anywhere.

But this was, unfortunately, one of those instances where thinking things thoroughly through and exhausting every possible option would be absolutely necessary. The way Naminé saw it, she had three choices, and she came up with all of them as the mirror was clattering to the ground floor below. One: she could wait and watch it fall, then push those unfortunate mysterious feelings to the back of her mind and get up to find Roxas. Two: she could wait and watch it fall, then be brave and navigate her way downstairs to examine the broken glass. Lastly, she could just simply turn away. After all, it didn't really matter to her...

...right?

Each one had risks and dangers, she noticed. If she went to find Roxas, she would have no idea where to look or how to get across the hole in the floor. If she went downstairs there was no telling what could be awaiting at the bottom or how to get back up, or if she could even make herself leave. And she had already ruled out option three in her mind.

Consequently this made her think about time, and what she could have done if she had more of it. She knew that time was considered to be the major measure of sequences of events, but once Ollette had told her that time didn't matter unless you had things happening in it. Things worthy of remembering. If you can't remember something, it's like it never happened. Likewise if something never happened there's no possible way of remembering it. She told herself this as she sat there, trying desperately to remember things that she wasn't sure happened to her or not. Like was this mirror, this simple mirror, important to her?

Or was it just another mirror? One that didn't belong in her sequence of events?

More time would have meant more time to think; to search her seemingly endless chain of memories and sort it out. More time would have meant more time with Roxas... More time to start over and learn all about him again. Because, she felt, after this mirror would hit the bottom, there was something she was supposed to remember.

She just hoped he would still be something that happened to her; something that she'd remember. She'd felt so complete when Roxas came to her. And now she could never imagine going back to things without him. And she hoped more than anything, that even if she forgot about Roxas, he would never forget about her. After all... she didn't care about being remembered.

She could just never stand to be alone.

And then... it fell.

Below her Naminé witnessed as the roar of splintering wood and cracked glass invaded her senses entirely; the sound bursting in her ears, the flurry taste of dank dust in her mouth, the absolute horror of the sight beneath her, and her heart screaming out upon impact.

The force that accompanied the crash rang throughout Naminé's body. She let out a tiny yelp in the first few seconds as the feeling took over her, traveling upwards like a million tiny pinpoints of broken glass, not unlike the ones from the shattering mirror. When it reached her torso her voice rose to a shrill scream, as it felt like invisible hands grabbed ahold her heart and were ripping it from her unchained chest.

"Roxas!" she screamed, tears running down her cheeks and over her already blurry eyes.

But nobody came.

Naminé gasped and took a step forward, still clutching warily at her heart. She looked down breathlessly at the breaking mirror and saw a thin crystal clear line of light emerge from the wreckage and fly upwards; far faster than Roxas could ever twist or turn his keyblade. The light shot up, making a small concentrated hole in the roof of the enormous mansion, lost from Naminé's sight for several seconds.

And then something happened. Standing there, teetering over the edge of the hole in the floor, the beam of light fell from the sky. It seemed to find Naminé and fall towards her quickly, and even as she put her hands in front of he face she felt the full force of the blow as it hit her. Her heart exploded inside her and the light from the beam shone bright in her eyes, blinding her. She felt herself screaming but couldn't hear it. Thousands of voices began speaking all at once in her head, yelling and laughing and whispering; blending together and falling apart. She clutched her ears but the noise still proceeded to sound, she tried to close her eyes but all she could see was white.

"Naminé!"

She stopped. Everything was still at the voice. The people stopped speaking and her heart stopped burning. The colorless light melted into blissful nothingness, then to faded surroundings. But she was somewhere else now. Somewhere she didn't entirely recognize, but also somehow knew. Somewhere she remembered.

"Naminé.." the voice said again.

She spun around towards where she thought the voice was coming from, but for several moments her surroundings reflected nothing but white. She tripped on the heel of her sandal and fell to the ground with a gasp, then struggled to right herself again.

"Why am I here?" she called out.

"Why _are_ you here?" the voice repeated, choosing not to answer her question.

She tried to run again and her shoe caught in something. Looking down, she saw grass. Deep green grass that ran all along side of her. She touched it gently with her hand. It was soft.

"Careful trying to run, then. Only just learned how to walk." a dark black robe; dusky as the night, appeared in front of her face, held afloat by two authorative ebony boots, pointed straight at her upturned face.

"W-what?" Naminé shuddered. Her entire body felt cold and light, like at any moment she might blow away.

Above her the figure bent down to her level and looked deeply into her eyes. It was a man, with eyes a piercing green and hair a vibrant red. It spiked out wildly in many different directions, and moved gently with the steady breeze.

"Didn't you know? You've only just begun to exist." the man smiled.

Naminé opened her mouth to answer; protest, counter, speak. Anything. But she didn't know what to say.

"Crazy, right? I don't remember my first day but Xigbar told me I was the same way."

Naminé still could only stare.

The man stood up, holding out his thin, black engloved hand. She looked at it warily for a moment, then dropped her head to the grass. The man pulled his hand back.

"Where am I?" she asked, looking around her. "I have to find Sora. He's supposed to be coming to rescue me. I have to warn him about Riku. He's not himself; I don't understand." Naminé looked from side to side, searching. "He's coming for me I know it. He made a promise."

"That happens too." the man scratched the back of his head. "Memories from your somebody."

These words barely registered with Naminé. All she could think of was finding Sora. "He's-"

"Do you remember how you got here?" the red-haired man turned towards her.

"Yes." Naminé insisted. "I..."

But she couldn't finish.

The man smiled apologetically. "Nobody does. It's like a dream. We know that we're here, that we're supposed to be here, but we can't really remember how. I hate to say this but you'll end up forgetting a whole lot more than just your first day."

Naminé gave the grass a blank stare, mulling this over. Why was she here again? She couldn't remember...

Sora, she nodded. She was waiting for Sora.

"Do you know your name?" the man said quietly.

Naminé looked at him strangely, slightly taken aback by his question, and the ridiculousness timing for such inquiries. But she decided to humor him, answering, "Of course. It's Kai-"

She stopped. It stared with a K, right? Either that or something else. She shook her head. This was crazy. She knew her name; of course she did. "K- Kai..."

Her heart fell. No matter what she tried, nothing came to her. Impulsively she decided to yell the first name that came to her head; that had to be it. "Naminé." she muttered out loud. Naminé? Where had she heard that before?

"That's right, Naminé." the man urged.

Of course. That voice, belonging to this person, had called out to her using that name. It was... hers. It was her name. Of course. She couldn't believe she forgot.

"You're lucky I'm here and not Larxene." the man's serious face changed back into the comical smirk. "Then again you're lucky you're here at all."

Naminé's legs felt astonishingly weak. She didn't know where she was or how she'd gotten here. In fact she'd barely just remembered her own name.

The man introduced himself. "I'm Axel. Or- wait. _Number VIII_ would be more appropriate I suppose. God that sounds terrible." he wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Naminé stammered out a "hello," but barely.

The man named Axel bent down and extended his hand for her to take it again. Knowing his name, she took it this time. It felt comfortable and friendly, and she let him lift her up off the ground.

"Some nobodies just wander off until they're forgotten. The ones the organization finds are pulled in to help. Funny how you ended up here. Do you remember this place?"

She shook her head no.

"Then something else drew you here." he laughed once, then grew silent for several moments. "Either that or _you're_ drawing someone here with you. Kind of a meeting place, huh?"

Silence.

"Of course, I can only tell you all this in the utmost confidence that you'll never remember." Axel scratched his head. "At least that's what Xigbar said."

A flurry of a curtain or someone's movements in the window of a large building caught the eye of Naminé, and apparently, Axel as well.

"Oh look, it's time." Axel said, looking off towards the large house.

Naminé stepped back in surprise, noticing the towering structure for the first time. It was large and ominous looking, and she'd never seen anything like it in her life. It was positioned behind an elongated fence, that bordered it's perimeter perfectly. Nestled neatly around it were green bushes and lush grass, trimmed to perfection and watered healthily.

"Time for what?" she heard herself whisper.

"Time to go." Axel tightened the grip on her hand and smiled a crooked smile.

Naminé shook her head. "I don't understand."

"No worries." Axel said. "I'm sure Sora will wait."

Sora?

"Who is Sora?" Naminé looked up at him.

Axel's face fell a little; he shuffled with his feet in the ground. "No one." he frowned.

Naminé brushed this away, and let a single tear fall down her cheek as she stared off towards the mansion. She didn't know anything but her new name, and that was all she remembered. She didn't know why she was here. Or even where "here" was.

"Hey." Axel turned to her, brushing the tear away with his hand. "It's okay. I promise it'll get better."

"How can you know that?" Naminé said, subconsciously putting her hand in her pocket.

"Naminé." Axel laughed softly. "That's a nice name."

Suddenly Axel looked her directly in the eyes. "Promise me you won't forget your name, Naminé. It's important to you. It becomes all you have out here. Some people may call you by a name that isn't yours; you might even think it is. But never forget who you truly are."

Naminé was surprised and confused but she nodded anyway, looking Axel back in the eyes and knowing somehow that she could trust him.

Axel moved his hands to the sides and stretched his fingers. Suddenly two circular rings etched themselves around his hands; live fire flaming from their surfaces. With these in hand he brought them together and pointed them straight at the large lock and chain on the massive gate. A single straight line connected the gap between the circles and the lock, and soon the chain fell in a heap on the ground, leaving a metallic ringing in Naminé's ears. Then the circles vanished from Axel's hands instantly.

Naminé just stared ahead at the now open gate, leading down a perfect path to the large mansion. Axel reached out and again took Naminé's hand, pulling her in. "It's okay." he urged, as she was reluctant to continue. She proceeded to keep her hand in her pocket, searching for something...

"Naminé, you're going to forget me." Axel talked as he walked. "The Organization might have me make you do things you won't like, because they know exactly who you are and what you're capable of." his voice became rushed as his steps became slower. They were halfway to the door.

"And I know you won't remember me, and I'm sorry. But know that it will all work out in the end. That I can promise you for certain." Axel stopped, and faced her.

"But also know that I won't ever forget meeting you for the first time, Naminé." he smiled softly. "So even if it looks like we're not friends, it isn't true. Even when you don't remember me. How lucky is it that I get to meet you twice, huh?"

Naminé was still just as dazed and confused as the moment she'd stepped onto the grass, but couldn't help but quietly whisper, "Yes," to Axel.

Naminé took her hand from Axel's to put back into her pocket and feel around for that familiar texture of shell and beads, but instead felt nothing but fabric.

"What's wrong?" Axel looked down at the pocket of her dress.

"M-my lucky charm. It's gone." Naminé shook her head. "Or maybe I never had it. I don't know." She felt horrible for losing it, but at the same time confounded as to why she couldn't remember if she had it or not in the first place.

Axel took her hand again, directing it towards the great handle of the door. The metal was cool and icy and it burned her skin to touch it. With Axel's help she pushed it inwards with a great and mighty heave.

"When you go in, skip the stairs and go into the third door on the right." Axel instructed. "Someone will find you from there. But don't be scared. It'll all be okay. Got it memorized?"

Naminé nodded, but she didn't want to let go of his hand. Her legs still felt weak and she still knew barely more than when she had arrived.

She stepped onto the cold hard ground in the building, and turned around to face outside. "Axel..."

"See ya later, then?" Axel shoved his hands in the pockets of his black coat and smiled his goodbye, the doors of the mansion shutting closed on his friendly face.

And then all was black. Naminé's eyes grew wide and tried to accustom themselves to the darkness of the room. Her sandals clicked on the concrete floors when she moved them, but she dared not take another step away from the door, even though all of the light from outside was gone.

Instead of a dream, Naminé had fallen straight into a nightmare with no knowledge of how she'd gotten there. And now... she'd lost her only friend.

Skip the stairs... third door on the right...

Naminé followed these instructions the older boy had given her, walking cautiously through the dimly lit foyer. She thought of the boy briefly. He had said she would forget about him; all about him completely. Forget who he was and that he'd helped her through everything. But she could never... never forget him. He was the first real person she had remembered, the first real person she'd met that she was sure of...

But then what was his name again?

* * *

Axel kicked the dry ground with his foot and stuck a twig in his mouth. Slowly he waltzed over to the edge of the gate and linked it back up, knowing nobody would be coming back out.

He thought about this certain place. Why she had shown up here, of all places. Who else was to show up here? "A meeting place." he smiled just to himself. "A meeting place for two Nobodies..."

* * *

I love this chapter so very much :)


	15. Two Nobodies

_Axel kicked the dry ground with his foot and stuck a twig in his mouth. Slowly he waltzed over to the edge of the gate and linked it back up, knowing nobody would be coming back out._

_He thought about this certain place. Why she had shown up here, of all places. Who else was to show up here? "A meeting place." he smiled just to himself. "A meeting place for two Nobodies..."_

* * *

As the splintering white-washed planks fell in the air Naminé's entire being sank until she was left writhing in pain on the ground. Her mind was spinning at a hundred miles an hour, and she could barely distinguish reality from what was lying right in front of her.

Her heart throbbed achingly once more and she gasped, clutching her arm and shutting her eyes tight.

When she opened them again she was upright. Standing; in another all white room, but this one different from the one at the mansion. This one more closely resembled a large room made entirely of pearl, as its surfaces reflected the designs etched neatly into the walls and the high Gothic ceiling. She released her arm and looked around.

There was a single chair in the middle of the room. Lying face down upon it was a notebook of sorts. Closed. She didn't open it.

Behind the chair was a door. A towering door, that stood apart from the rest of the room by its glowing golden color that seeped through the slats and under the frame. It beckoned longingly but Naminé knew that however much she'd try to open it, it would always be locked.

Naminé remembered this place. She knew exactly what was on that sketchpad and through that door. She knew she wanted to leave.

But she still had the feeling that she couldn't.

This pearly white, clean room that looked as if it held no secrets withheld a terrible imprisoning captivity. Naminé could see herself sitting in that chair and drawing, drawing, drawing...

Lonely and forgotten in that room, where she could be watched; kept track off. Knowing that at any moment freedom was only just a floor down, maybe fighting it's way up to save her. That freedom was just through that door...

If only someone would open it.

Naminé walked slowly to the chair and sat down in it, feeling as if she might cry at any moment from the silence and loneliness. She picked up the sketchpad and opened it slowly. The first page was blank. As was the second, the third. She turned through it page by page by page, until there was only one left.

Peeling back the paper she saw a picture. A beautiful picture with bold, stoic colors. At the same time she turned the page the door in front of her opened slowly, engulfing her in its golden light. There was a face upon the page that the light drowned away as it entered the room, submerging Naminé completely.

"Hello?" she called softly to the open door, awaiting a reply from anyone through it's entrance.

When she heard the answer she stepped lightly through the golden cloaked door...

...and woke up in the mansion. On the ground, in the arms...

Of Roxas.

His head was down over her, his eyes shut tight. He was rocking her back and forth in his grasp.

Her body shook for several moments, decreasingly, until it stopped altogether. She felt tired and drained, but different. Better, in a way. Like the way she always felt when nobody was around and she sprinted through the afternoon air down sunset station. Tired but satisfied.

Roxas felt her stop shaking and looked up, noticing her eyes were open and looking back at him. "Naminé!" he sighed and pulled her into a hug.

She put her arms around his neck and inhaled deeply of his wintergreen- like aroma. It smelled comforting and static. Like she knew he wouldn't be leaving any time soon.

She pulled back. "Roxas..." she said slowly.

"Are you okay?" he interrupted, pulling back and inspecting her. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he pulled her off the ground.

"I think so." Feeling skeptical herself, she stood carefully and looked over herself too, making sure this was reality before she dismissed it simply as the ordinary.

"What happened?" he said, running his hand through his hair, shaking out the dust and tiny splinters of wood caught in it from the explosion.

"I don't know." she said. "I was waiting for you, and the mirror... the mirror fell over the edge. Some light came out and hit me or something. Some light..." she shook her head.

"It's okay." Roxas said, and by his voice she knew he was right.

She stopped and looked at him. "Roxas I saw something I can't explain." she said. "I mean... I don't know how to tell you."

Roxas shook his head. "Welcome to my world." he smiled gently.

"Roxas please. I-"

Roxas put his hand on her arm suddenly, making her start. "Axel." he said, then turned towards the hall and hole where the door used to be.

"Where is he?" Naminé shouted after him.

"I don't know." Roxas stopped before the hole in the floor and contemplated the way around.

"Well then what exactly were you doing when you left?" Naminé yelled impatiently.

Roxas ignored this and uncovered his previously concealed face from the black hood, running his hand through his blonde hair.

Naminé crossed her arms in front of her chest, then immediately lowered them due to a small quantity of wood splinters embedded in the fabric of her white dress. Timidly she pulled them from the skin on her arms.

"Give me your hand." Roxas instructed, holding it out.

She took it, still frustrated with him. If he hadn't left her, perhaps the mirror never would have gone over. And she wouldn't have seen those things from that light, of which the confusion clouded her mind even more than her impatience with Roxas' inability to tell her what was going on.

As he had before, Roxas raised his palm eye level and a dark chasm appeared. Through this Roxas pulled Naminé. It was a strange feeling: like walking through a thick fog and coming out feeling slightly heavier on the other side.

When they emerged Naminé realized their location was about ten or eleven feet from where they were, right across the hole and next to the doorway. She looked at Roxas.

"I couldn't figure out another way to get across." he shrugged.

She smiled.

He took her hand and led her through the broken remains of the door, then proceeded down the hall, which was much more intact than the room from which they had just left. Naminé's sixth sense about this told her that whatever had hit the room knew they were in there, but she pushed this to the back of her mind, preferring not to think about the fact that someone might be after them.

"The hall wasn't hit." Roxas pointed out, pulling Naminé into the white room from before. The door to it had capsized under pressure and the frame around it was bent inwards.

"I know." Naminé agreed, stretching herself behind Roxas to fit through the cramped entryway. "Roxas, do you think that-"

She stopped in her tracks at the sight of Axel, who was lying in the middle of the floor surrounded in a pool of blood. She had never seen the sight before in her life. Blood. It was a deep crimson that still seemed to portentously shine despite the lack of light in the room. Roxas ran to him quickly.

"Oh God." he said, the smallest trace of panic in his voice. His usual stoic, unruffled voice. The insecurity in it made Naminé quiver.

As she stepped slowly closer, some of the blood got on her shoe. It was thick and dark. She swallowed. "Roxas, what do we do?"

Roxas' eyes darted back and forth across Axel's body, from his tightly shut eyes to the large scratch across his chest. Three distinct lines ran parallel across the surface of Axel's body, from the looks of it about a half an inch deep.

Roxas was shaking. "I don't know. I mean- this has never... I don't know what to-"

"Roxas, what do we do?" Naminé repeated urgently, kneeling down.

"I don't know, Naminé. I don't have any bandages and my potions are gone, but I-"

"But you what?" Naminé yelled, close to tears. For some reason, unknown to her, she just couldn't let Axel die.

"I don't know, Naminé, okay? I don't know! I just don't know what to do." Roxas yelled, startling her. At the corners of his eyes welled small tears and he was breathing heavily. "God, I don't know. I can't let him die. He's done everything for me. I can't... let him die."

Roxas' tears stirred something in Naminé. He was her rock that she could stand on. If he couldn't pull himself together, she would have to. She stood up with what she could only guess was determination and order, despite her aching body and shaking legs. "Okay." she said slowly. "Let me think."

Roxas looked up.

At this point Naminé met his eyes and was forced to realize that her grand stance and stature had to amount to something that wasn't really there. She had no idea what to do. She felt a bead of sweat form on her temple and brushed it away with her hand. "Um."

Roxas was still looking at her with interest and seemingly awaiting something that wouldn't come.

Naminé broke the gaze between them and dropped her navy orbs to the ground, looking at her dusty sandals. Her palms started to itch, so she shoved them in her pockets. Something cold struck her right hand as she put it in the fabric of her dress. Her fingertips lightly touched something glass, then wrapped themselves around its circumference. She pulled it out.

"Roxas..." she said, barely audible. Her eyes grew wide and her heart started beating fast. In front of her face she held a small round flask of dark purple liquid. "Roxas!"

Roxas looked up at her and gasped silently.

Naminé fell to her scratched knees beside the two boys. "Will this help, Roxas?"

He fumbled for the potion. "Yeah... I think! Let me see it."

She watched him carefully uncork the top of the bottle with the side of his mouth and spit it out. The tears from his eyes were gone now, and Naminé could sense the same aura about him that she had before. The same knowledge, order, and comfort. She smiled.

"Alright. Here goes." Roxas tipped the end of the bottle slowly, directly over Axel's chest. The potion inside poured out, but not as usual liquid would. It took several seconds longer to reach Axel, as it almost had the consistency of molasses and fell very slowly. Magically. It's very surface sparkled beautifully. When it articulated with Axel's skin it sparked out wildly and melted silently away into the surface of his cloak. When the entire potion was gone from the flask, Roxas brought it down.

"Did it work?" Naminé said after awhile.

Roxas leaned over Axel and peeled back a severed portion of his cloak to inspect his chest. "Yeah." he said. "Look."

Naminé looked over and saw that where the three long scratches bad been there was now normal, clear skin. It looked as if invisible sutures had sewn him together again. Naminé breathed a sigh of relief and sat back off of her knees again, feeling drained and exhausted.

Axel's eyelids fluttered quickly and he let out a small moan.

"He's waking up." Roxas said, standing. "Naminé, come here."

Naminé looked up slowly, straining to keep her eyes open. "What? Why?"

Roxas clasped her hand in his and pulled her up. She felt her body limp upwards and she struggled slightly to balance on her legs. Roxas held her up in his grip. She lifted up her eyes to his. They were shining brightly. She could see every perfect feature of his face, his creamy skin still glowing despite all that had happened before.

"You have dirt on your nose." Roxas laughed.

Naminé felt her face flush a little, and she turned her smile down to hide it. "Well I did have half a roof cave in and fall on me." she said.

Still looking at her, Roxas took his index finger and gently brushed away the dirt. At his touch she shut her eyes. She opened them again at his embrace, and stood idly for a moment, held up by his grasp.

"Thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here, Naminé." He rested his chin softly on her shoulder.

She didn't say anything but tried her best to hug him back as her welcome.

"_Dieee_." Naminé heard a small squeak. Roxas broke away and looked down at Axel.

"That thing... is going to die." Axel sat up on his elbows and opened his eyes.

Roxas laughed and reached his hand down to help Axel up.

After a couple of stumbles and a rather loud scream for justice, Axel stood by himself against the wall.

"Well do you know what the hell it was?" Axel scratched his head and asked Roxas after a short discussion on how they could catch it.

"A heartless, I think. But man, it must have been huge." Roxas said. "It tore half a wall out in the room we were in."

"Are you guys okay? Naminé?" Axel looked towards her.

"Fine." she swallowed. The turmoil being over, her physical exhaustion caught up, all she could think about was what she had seen and how she couldn't explain it. The pearl room in particular was wound up in her mind where she couldn't get it out. She shivered.

"Roxas?" Axel stretched the muscles in his black gloved hand.

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay." he answered.

"Good. Then we can get out of here. Saïx is going to have a heck of a time cleaning this place up." he smiled smugly.

"Unless he gives the job to you." Roxas joked.

"Yeah, keep dreaming pipsqueak." Axel patted his head as he walked by.

Roxas hit his hand away and laughed. At this point Naminé truly  
couldn't keep her eyes open, and sat down against the wall, her arms limply fallen at her sides.

"Naminé?" she heard Roxas say. It sounded echoed and far off. She felt a warm hand on the side of her face lift it up. She opened her eyes but the next scene she saw flashed by in slow motion. She could see Roxas smiling gently at her from underneath his floppy blonde spikes for the briefest of moments, then she saw Axel out of the corner of her eye yell something in urgency. Roxas turned his eyes from Naminé's and they grew wide in fear at what they saw.

Everything after that happened quickly. Now, with her senses cleared, Naminé saw something she had trouble reminiscing about later. It could have been because she took little or no time to look at the creature now present before her in detail, or because the absolute terror of remembering it chilled her to the bone. Either way, it was there. It came back.

It was a towering black structure. Naturally, where it's heart should be, there was a gaping hole; filled only with the stingy air of the now tumultuous room.

"Damn, heartless!" Axel yelled.

Roxas and Axel took action immediately. Unbeknownst to Naminé at this time, this impressed her very much. Her allover lack of vigor barely allotted her the option of moving out of the way before the heartless crushed her entire being once or twice.

Roxas started by producing his keyblade and pulling Naminé by the hem of her dress over to the luminous, curtainless window. Not gently, she couldn't help but notice. She heard a rip of seams on her dress and when she landed she hit her knee against the wood inlay of the wall. "Roxas!" she yelled, partly out of pain but mostly out of desperation.

"Stay here unless I tell you to move." Roxas instructed, holding her hand for the briefest of seconds before letting go and turning around to the towering beast.

Moving out in a scratching motion, the heartless jabbed in the general direction of Axel. He jumped back quickly, narrowly missing it in time, but tripping on his cloak nonetheless. "Roxas!" he shouted impatiently and brought out his chakrams.

"Yeah, working on it!" Roxas shouted and jumped up on the bed, jabbing the heartless in its chest. "Naminé, get away from there!" the heartless let out a loud groan and dropped the bookcase. It landed on the middle of the beautiful white floor with a crash.

Naminé tore herself away from the window like Roxas had instructed. From the wreckage of the bookcase a small, yellowing piece of paper fluttered gracefully from the breeze of what was happening above it. Naminé, not even looking at it, tore it from the pile and stuffed it in her dress.

"Naminé, get away!" Roxas was standing precariously on the monster's shoulders, preparing to stab it in the neck with his keyblade. From the other side Axel was slicing at it with his chakrams.

"Augh!" Roxas grunted loudly and plunged the blade into the throat of the heartless. It let out a loud roar, not unlike the one it had uttered before destroying the mansion. It stepped on the bookcase in it's turmoil, not moments before Naminé moved away. Mere seconds later the heartless was gone in a puff of black smoke, and Roxas fell to the scratched floor. Naminé saw the previously intact bookcase crumbled and virtually indistinguishable on the floor from the crushing step of the heartless.

"Roxas, are you okay?" Naminé pulled her bloodied knees from the floor and crawled to where Roxas lay. "Roxas!" she put her hands on his face and turned his head towards her, shoving his black hood under his hair. On his forehead was a fresh cut among the dried bloody ones from before. Naminé almost thought it better to look at him now; his face still perfect, his eyes still closed but fluttering slightly, maybe dreaming about something. But he was slightly more believable, slightly more tangible. Something that was able to be cut and something capable of feeling pain. Something real.

"Naminé." Roxas stirred, then groaned. "The picture you grabbed. What was it?" he asked, his eyes still closed.

"What? Oh." Naminé exhaled loudly, then struggled to get the drawing from her pocket. "Here." she laid down beside him on the floor, her hair scattering in a million directions, and held the drawing in front of both their faces, toward the sky. Light from the broken wall filtered in around both their faces. From the corner of her eye she saw Roxas open his eyes and smile.

She strained her eyes in the light to see it too. It was a sketch of three people in black coats. One had spiky blonde hair, one had spiky red hair, and the other straight short black. They were all holding hands.

"Thanks, Naminé. For saving it." Roxas said quietly, and turned his head to look at her. She felt him watch her as she studied the details of the sketch herself, not quite understanding it but recognizing it all the same.

"God." someone said from above them. Naminé sat up and saw Axel, rubbing his ankle in the corner. He was sitting in a dilapidated chair, one leg missing and the seat resting partially on the ground. He was watching them intently. "You two don't make sense to me."

Roxas sat up too. "Thanks for your help there, Axel. Couldn't have done it without you."

"Anytime. Anytime. My services are always available!" he stood up, spreading his arms out ta-da style. Then he looked down at Roxas. "You know what to do."

And in a cloud of smoke he was gone.

Roxas stared at the place where he had gone solemnly and serenely. Peacefully. Then he lay back down.

"Two nobodies that don't make sense. How redundant." he said quietly.

Naminé folded the drawing into four squares and slipped it into Roxas' hand, where he clenched it tightly. Then she lay down in the crook of his cloaked arm, resting her head on his heaving chest. He kissed the top of her head gently.

"Go to sleep, Naminé." Roxas said.

And she did. 

* * *

Haha! Things are getting interesting..


	16. Sounds Familiar

_If you are afraid, don't be.  
I have the whole thing planned._

* * *

Naminé awoke unordinarily peacefully to the noises of her room. The white birds that always fluttered and cooed outside her windowsill created a melody in her mind that she found herself humming along to when she opened her eyes. Her fish globe that cast a low blue glow danced around the faint shadows that things like her dresser and desk cast upon the room. And from outside, easily harmonizing with the birds, she heard children of a loud disposition, not unlike the ones she had woken up to the day before.

Waking up was easy, as was getting up and getting dressed. The only thing that made the morning difficult to handle, in fact, was because at the very moment she started to tidy up her room, she remembered she had no idea how she'd gotten there.

A hairbrush that she was holding fell to the ground and clattered under her bed, where she dutifully left it. She was in her room. In twilight town. Not the mansion. There were no signs of heartless, or Axel, or Roxas. Just home.

Naminé considered chalking up her confusion to a weird dream, but found the drawing she had saved from the bookcase before on her dresser. Not that she would have believed her whole experience being a dream, anyway. It was altogether painted too vividly on her memory. She recalled everything from the clocktower and the mirror to falling asleep in Roxas' arms. But she had no idea of how she'd ended up back home.

And then a thought struck her. An awful, aching thought. It was relief. She tried to push it back in her mind but couldn't. She was relieved. Excluding Roxas, she missed none of it. It was all gone. All of the perplexing memories and confusing thoughts. She was home, which meant she was safe. She could go on about her day. She could go find her friends! Ollete, Hayner, and Pence... they were probably down at the usual spot. It was almost like none of the day before had happened.

Like none of it had happened. A perfect seventh day.

So Naminé packed smart today. She grabbed a jacket and her wallet with what little munny she had by the end of the summer. Inside it's folds she tucked the drawing of the three people holding hands, a drawing of a sunset, and one of the mysterious boy which she had come to learn was Roxas. Lastly she snatched her keychain from Ollete that was hanging on her jewelry hook. She clutched the cold golden star in her palm until it warmed up completely. She was going to be prepared, for whatever Hayner concocted for them to do.

Then she threw open the door to her bedroom, bounded through the entrance to her house, and was off down the street.

When she got to the usual spot, and unveiled the heavy red curtain guarding it's entrance, everyone else was already there waiting. Hayner was finishing a speech. Naminé could tell, because he whenever he made speeches he usually put his skinny laced leg up on a rickety crate or anything that was nearby and adopted an advanced, pensive stature.

"...so we need a plan." he said finally. "Something big and great. I need to think." he then put his head in his hand and massaged his temples.

"Hi guys." Naminé smiled brightly. She set her things down by the door and pulled up an old box near Ollete. None of them acknowledged her, but she attributed this to the stress that Hayner was no doubt placing upon all of them.

Hayner raised his head and put his hand over his mouth thoughtfully. "Well, I guess that leaves the question of... who wants to go get ice cream?"

"You need ice cream again?" Naminé chuckled. She was feeling light and airy; ecstatic that she was back with her friends. Truth be told she only could have been away about a day, but it felt much longer. Maybe, now that she felt like nothing else strange could bother her, her friends could see that she was capable of acting normal and happy to be with them.

"Hayner, why do you need ice cream?" Ollete sighed.

"It helps me think." he retorted quickly and without hesitation. "So, who wants to go?"

Naminé shivered and her head felt like she drank too much cold water much too fast. This usually happened whenever she experienced déjà vu. She stood up because sitting made her legs feel numb.

Ollete and Pence both sighed at the same time rather loudly.

All of the sudden something strange happened, but it only lasted a moment. Looking upon the scene, Naminé saw something change. The whole room under the train tracks shifted for a second, like it was readjusting itself. Ollete's arm jerked upwards towards ,her face as Hayner's leg shifted on the crate. It was almost like a tape that was playing and skipped an entire beat.

Then Hayner continued like nothing had happened. He waited in respectful silence for something that wasn't coming. "Really? No one? Come on!"

Naminé shook her head and rubbed her eyes. Something wasn't right.

Amidst the silence, Ollete coughed quietly.

Then, again, the skip in the film occurrence paused the scene in front of her. Oddly enough, instead of being frightened by it, Naminé studied it this time. It truly looked like it was a broken movie, and the playback was skipping whenever Naminé felt like she should be speaking.

Hayner smiled. "Ollete! How thoughtful."

"Bu-" Ollete started to protest. Wait a second...

"Be back soon!" Hayner shouted, and pushed her towards the direction of the road that led to tram common. "Can't waste the last day of summer!" he called after her.

And then Naminé understood.

"I haven't got any munny!" Ollete called to him and tripped as she walked backwards.

It was happening again. The whole day yesterday... everything was being repeated exactly as it was. The words, the actions. She remembered everything.

The only difference was she'd been entirely written out. Like she never belonged there in the first place. Each spot where she'd interjected her thoughts or words in the day before was gone. It meant nothing. She panicked.

"Hayner?" she called once Ollete had gone. "Hayner!" She ambled over to where Hayner was twisting a small nail in his mouth. He didn't look at Naminé.

"Well I think I know what Hayner's thinking about." Pence smirked and  
reclined on his crate.

"Shut up." Hayner threw the nail at Pence and tried to hide his growing blush.

In the middle of the nail's descent towards Pence the skip occurred again, but this time it stayed paused. Pence's hand was raised up in front of his face but Naminé could still see his contorted smirk stuck in the midst of a laugh. Hayner's reddened face was angered and his brow furrowed; a piece of his blonde hair was sticking straight up towards the slats in the roof. His arm was outstretched and his fingers were extended from letting go of the nail.

Suddenly the air in the room became very thin and light. Naminé wondered if she was even breathing in air at all. The sun above the slats in the roof was stationary, but Naminé couldn't feel it's comforting rays. In addition to this, the sounds of the town outside  
stopped altogether. It was completely silent. Naminé stepped forward in the dirt, but no flurry of dust clouded around her foot like it normally did. Timidly she walked to the center of the room and stared at the nail suspended in mid-air.

She almost laughed at the potential thought of standing directly in front of the speeding nail and letting the metal plunge into her heart. Letting this all go where it clearly and blatantly wanted to go. Letting it all end, with nothing in Naminé's head cleared up. She felt like it could easily have been a game that someone was playing, called "see who can make Naminé more confused," and she was the playing piece. Suddenly she felt like giving the players no satisfaction of winning, and she felt triumphant and brave if she would just end it while she was ahead.

But of course this tiny metal nail would never stop anything. It could hardly even puncture her skin. And even if it could, Naminé had no control of starting the scene moving again. Naminé had no control over anything.

She wished Roxas was there. He gave her a feeling of control, even if it was fleeting and even if it didn't belong to her. Just as quickly as she was willing to forget him, and Axel, and everything else that had happened to her, she realized it was all she had left. There was nothing for her here. All that she'd seen, all those she had met... they were hers now. Hers to accept. Hers to find.

Roxas.

Naminé, in an act of defiance, pushed her blonde hair out of her eyes and stood up straight it front of the nail. Pinching it out of thin air, she dropped it to the ground where it rolled away noiselessly. She didn't understand what was going on, but now she understood one thing that she had overlooked before. Today was the seventh day... and there could never be such a thing. Her summer vacation was over. Taking one last glance at Hayner and Pence and the usual spot, she turned, grabbed her things where she dropped them by the door, and left.

As she was halfway out the door the whole town skipped once more and she heard Hayner and Pence's mumbled speech from behind her begin again, but she didn't look back. She walked out into the street and looked around. The same children she saw yesterday were running around and playing in-between the cream buildings, shooting twigs at each other and weaving headdresses out of the flowers of neighboring gardens. The sky above, she noticed, was grayer than usual, which she didn't remember seeing yesterday. Maybe she just wasn't looking.

She moved on through the buildings aimlessly. Periodically she'd stop and stare at things she never noticed before. Things she always knew were there, but never took the time to look at in their entirety.

Something dainty and wet dripped down the side of Naminé's face rather abruptly. She stopped and waited as the water made a path of moisture down her cheek and then fell onto the soft white cotton of her dress. As she looked it melted away into the fabric. It was raining.

It seemed as if the very first raindrop had found Naminé; almost like a scout. And now more of them pelted her soft cheeks and created puddles in the streets. They began to hit her hard.

Naminé recoiled in disgust from the water. Her rain. Her perfect, one-time rain was falling again. It didn't smell fresh and clean like Naminé remembered it smelling yesterday. Now it smelled stagnant and dirty. She shivered, which she didn't feel yesterday either. She could only attribute this to the fact that yesterday, when everything was perfect, in that moment where she wished it could've stayed that way forever, she welcomed the rain. Now she knew it was old, and repeated. It wasn't real.

Frantically Naminé looked for shelter from the downpour. The awnings over the buildings in twilight town were not made to accommodate weather-escaping passerby, and they only extended a mere half a foot from their doorframes. What was more, all the shops on the narrow street around her seemed to be closed. At a quick glance, Naminé's blurry eyes found the drippy gold sign on top of the hill that pointed to the Station. A thought occurred to her, in the form of an escape. The clocktower. Roxas. He had told her she could see him there when she was looking for him. Without a second thought, Naminé traipsed at a half-run up the puddled hill towards the Station. Before she was even halfway through the climb, she could see the great clocktower looming ominously overhead, perfectly drenched except for the small, slightly-submerged ice cream shop nestled alongside it. Naminé ran to this, her arms over her head, and sat underneath the steps, exhaling a sigh of relief.

As she sat there and watched the trains continue on the precarious looking concrete tracks down far below the balcony, she noticed there were none coming in. They were all leaving... perhaps on their way to the other side of the town. She also saw that the great orange sun was nowhere to be seen. Not a single ray of light illuminated the large square. Naminé closed her eyes and wondered what her friends were doing. Probably listening to Hayner's great and grand scheme, hidden from the rain by the safe and secluded usual spot. Ollete had more than likely returned by now, and Hayner was probably just finishing up his ice cream, flailing it all around the room as he talked like he normally did. This made Naminé chuckle slightly at the thought, but she stopped immediately as she remembered they didn't even know she was gone. Almost like she was never there to begin with. The thought was too convoluted to comprehend and too painful to bear, so Naminé opened her eyes and stood.

Naminé ventured timidly into the square and up the steps to the frosty glass Station door. She cupped her hands over her eyes and peered inside. The lack of light in the atmosphere cast a shadowy blackness on the interior; the ticket booth and the stationary trains bottled within were dark and gloomy. From what Naminé could see, not a single person lurked inside. This frightened her. At this time in the day there were always visitors coming and arriving by the trains, or at the very least a sole busboy would be sleeping between the archway where the two lanes parted, waiting to once again be abruptly awoken by the whistle of the train. Now there was nobody here. She felt completely alone in the whole town. Of course she assumed there had to be _someone_ here. After all, she knew her friends were somewhere downtown. And someone had to be operating the trains. But she still felt isolated. Like every living thing was ignoring her presence.

On a whim, the soaking Naminé pushed her palm flat against the door of the station, fully expecting it to be locked shut. Surprisingly, it opened with the same tinny squeaking sound that it normally made, and Naminé stepped lightly inside the great station's hall.

The polished floors shone with no exemplary splendor. They merely mimicked the dancing drips the raindrops made on the glassy clear doors above them, and created dark patterns on the concrete walls. The desolate and shadowed trains sat ominously on their respective tracks; not moving, just waiting. Waiting for something that wouldn't be coming for awhile.

Naminé had never seen the Station like this. In all of her childhood memories, in all of her dreams... she had remembered coming to this Station. And it was bright, the brightest place she had ever been. There were never any lights, because there never needed to be any. Natural light would shine in from the setting sun and bathe the whole place in a soft golden glow. This caused the beautiful shiny floors to reflect the graciously-carved concrete ceiling, and the inlaid wooden walls would provide support and earthly assurance to the otherwise heavenly golden room. The idea of the ornate orange trains that could take her wherever she wanted to go... but she could never dream of leaving here. It was one of those rare and beautiful circumstances where someone was content to be where they were. Twilight Town was her home. It was the place she wanted to be forever. Whenever Naminé came to the Station she could allow herself to have a drifting sense of promise and sincerity. This Station would always be here, she would tell herself. And it would always be bright. Always be beautiful.

But now... shadows caressed parts of the Station and blanketed spots she never knew existed. As hard as she tried to imagine she couldn't place what was behind that doorway... or up that flight of stairs. All she saw was blackness. She never thought about what exactly clothed these thoughts of irreversible uncovering before. Perhaps it was because wherever she looked it was bright. There was always light bursting from some point in the Station, whether it was that doorway, or above those stairs. Light always found its way in. But now there was nothing but the grey outside sky to give light to the Station's insecurities.

Naminé felt like each train nestled in its own little spot. Disused. Forgotten. Desolate.

Naminé ventured that there truly was no point in staying here any longer. But all she could do was stare at the places she wished she had gathered the curiosity to go when they were alight, and try and gather the courage to go to them now. Finally, she pulled herself from the invisible bonds chaining her feet to the floor and walked to the entrance silently, save for the small sound the heels of her sandals made against the polished wood.

As she stepped outside she turned back and bolted the tiny lock on the door, shutting away the darkened past within, knowing nobody would be coming back out.

The water was coming down even harder now. The sound of it created a cacophonous white-noise in her ear and it combined with the steady  
rhythm of her own breathing to become all she could hear. Ignoring this, Naminé pushed herself from the glass station door and ran out into the downpour, making her way to the side of the colossal tower to where the staircase was located. Grabbing the rusting pewter rail, she pulled and slipped slowly but surely through the shower. The climb seemed to last much longer and seemed much more dangerous to finish without Roxas' comforting hand on her back, lest her foot slip on the watery grate. Now there was nobody to catch her if she fell. She just had to trust her own judgment, which was quickly becoming harder and harder for her to do.

Almost immediately as she arrived on the top she slipped treacherously, almost tipping over the side. Up here, there was no rail to grab. She stumbled blindly on the edge, not quite sure what she was hoping to accomplish anymore. She looked around, cupping her hands over her eyes so the water would not get in and blur her vision. Nobody, not even Roxas, was anywhere to be seen. There was another side that her eyes couldn't reach from where she was standing, so she found her footing on the smooth cobblestone and took a sure step forward.

At once, she knew she had made a mistake. Her ankle twisted on the wet surface and she was falling. Her arms reached out quickly for something; anything, to grasp onto. But all that lie before her were huge stone pillars that encased equally as large gaps between them. Her palms met empty air. The fall itself seemed to take forever, almost exactly like the mirror had fallen yesterday. She felt like she was watching somewhere through a hole in the sky, not unlike the hole in the floor the day prior. She became the mirror, hurtling towards the ground with nothing to stop it. She would crash down at the bottom, but nothing from inside her would go out to anyone else. No part of her would remain. She would just... disappear.

Roxas...

She thought this clearly and concisely. Her very last thought would be of him. She decided this as she was falling.

Roxas.

_"Yes?"_

Naminé opened her closed eyes. She was still falling, but a voice had answered Roxas' call. A voice that was not his.

"Roxas?" she called again. "What's happening to me?"

The voice laughed courteously. _"No, it's Sora."_

"Sora!"

_"Yes."_the voice answered.

"Do you know where Roxas is?" Naminé asked.

_"No. I'm sorry. What is your name?"_

Naminé wasn't sure if this was real. But she had been waiting to talk to Sora since she remembered him. She blurted, "Naminé. My name is Naminé."

_"Naminé..."_ Sora said thoughtfully. _"Sounds familiar."_

Naminé smiled. Before her eyes she saw the clocktower flash past, a fog of black, and then, nothing. 

"I'm here, Naminé. I'm right here."

* * *

Hmm talking to Sora? Kindof like how Roxas talked to Kairi, maybe?

Food for thought.


End file.
